What do you prefer in a RPG?

[droggen]

Just curious here so bear with me i dont know if there is a Thread dedicated to this item so here goes.
What do you prefer in a rpg?
Nice graphics?
A good story line?
Or a good combat system?

I ask because i notice All Rpg's are becoming movies more than RPG's per say.
Me persoanally i like a good story line.
Not the same tired old save the princess get the girl save the world Garbage we appear to be getting.
And graphics aren't that important to me because after awhile you kinda look past them.
Let me know what you think.

[Advent Child]

story or combat.

[Sefie1999AD]

Fun gameplay and good storyline. Usually the gameplay gets better if there's a great battle system to support it, and the storyline gets better if there's a good cast of characters supporting it.

[Flying Mullet]

I'm picky when it comes to what I think makes for a great rpg. I love bright and colorful graphics. I don't mind the occasional gloomy part, but over all I like lots of colors. I also like music. That can really make or break it for me. If the game has bad music battles and other repetitive parts get tedious quite quick. I like a good storyline, although character depth isn't as important, as long as the general story doesn't depend on it. And finally I like a lot of optional goodies to find. That's one of the reasons why I love Final Fantasy VI so much as almost everything you do in the WOR is optional. And as for combat systems, I haven't played too many games with a bad combat system, so I can't really say one way or the other.

[Blackmage]

Personally, good music, good and easy-to-get storyline, and a well-built and thoughtout battle system are the ticket; especially the good music part of it. If it has overly repetitive and boring music, I really want to turn away from playing it. As far as graphics are concerned, so long as they don't completely suck, I really don't care.

[MASA]

First of all

The scenario...the story.....after..The music and the Battle mode are really important to.....I like Chrono Trigger Battle mode because u can combien magic with 2 or 3 fighter....well....this is my opinion

[droggen]

Originally posted by Kr0N0s
First of all

The scenario...the story.....after..The music and the Battle mode are really important to.....I like Chrono Trigger Battle mode because u can combien magic with 2 or 3 fighter....well....this is my opinion

Yes i agree the battle system is paramount that is why poeple love Final Fantasy.Its simplistic battle system.

And the scenario i agree whole heartedly.!
I love stories where they don't just say hey you gotta save the world Just because!.

and the combo's are a good feature in grandia extreme they employ it even better:)

what i dont like in some rpg's is the fact that you can predict the story(FF9 anybody?).

[Wightraven]

Oo! Very deep, profound question, and I have seven minutes to answer it before I have to leave, so here goes...

The most important thing in an RPG is Gameplay. Take FF1 for example; the storyline and character devo weren't much to speak of... it was generally run-of-the-mill... but to this day there are those who claim that FF1 is the best RPG EVER, and the excellent gameplay puts a lot of support to that.

The second most important feature is music. Bad music can ruin a game. Again, take FF1, the old NES version. Although fine for it's time, nowadays FF1's music is so godawful, Cthulu himself plugs his sound-receptors in pain. If they hadn't remade it with better music I doubt I'd play it as much as I do now.

The third most important thing is variety. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Having lots of neat weapons, characters, sidequests, abilites, magicks, etc., make sure almost any gamer can find their niche in the game.

Fourth is length. Some RPGs are just too bloody short. It can have the best music, gameplay, characters, story, etc... but if it only lasts me a week, I'll be pissed.

Fifth is story and characters. I group these together because they really intertwine. Without the characters, the story would fail and without the story, the characters would just sit there and you wouldn't be playing the game in the first place. A good, creative, interessovating story is highly integral to the overall satisfaction of the game.

Sixth and last is graphics. I don't care if it's 2D, 3D, SD or realistic... just make it look good. I have no problem looking at pretty games like the FF1 remake or FFX... as good as it is, though, FF7 is painful on the eyes.

*breathes* Whoo! Made it with one minute to spare. As a final note I'll add that the battles must keep exciting, as that was the downfall of an otherwise superb RPG, LUNAR: SSSC. Great everything except for the battles, which were repetitive and boring.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

[Ouch!]

Though I enjoy every RPG you can throw at me, with few exceptions, I am picky when it comes to one I say I would love to play again and again.

I don't really care too much for RPGs that are short of a good plot. For it to be a good plot, I want it to be original and have many good things supporting it, such as a good cast of characters.

As for the characters I don't want them to just pop up and be playable. I like the plot to take you into the back stories of all the characters, even if just in a subplot (i.e. Vincent from FFVII).

I like battle systems to be unique. Not just X mashing like some FFs can become later on in the game. I tend to like them to be more comlicated and requiring you to think, which is why I love Final Fantasy Tactics so much.

Music is also very important to me. I find that music, and most will probably agree, can make or break a game. The music of a game can be the single thing that really gets you into the game. And when I say music, I mean music, not always some synthesized techno stuff. I loved the opening to Grandia II which had piano and violin I believe. Music can change your emotions more than what happens in the games. Aerith's death wouldn't have been half as sad without the magnificent theme and you know it.

So yes, I am picky, very picky. And looking over what I had to say, one of the few games that came up to these standards for me was Final Fantasy Tactics. Though not all the characters you played as were greatly important, there were a great deal of them who were (such as Agrias, Mustadio, etc.) and even the NPCs were greatly well done in such numbers.

[droggen]

if you can dl a dues.
its a great song and its what elena sings:)

[Strife]

I love playing RPGs. My favourite kinds are the old fashion style ones. like FFT or the sailormoon RPG (on super nes). I know the raphics aren't the best because it's like playing a 8-bit game. But I think it's really cute with the charater design.
When I play RPGs, I look for the plot, combat and graphics of the game.

[droggen]

Yea i agree RPG's are becoming more eye candy than story.

[Enigma]

The things that make a great RPG for me is a RPG with: (not in order)

1. Great music. The music gives emotion, especially to the RPGs with out voice-acting.

2. Realistic characters. Some funny ones, some serious ones, some sad and dark ones, just mixes of all kinds.

3. A great story. The story cannot be the same old thing: kill a crazy guy who wants to destroy the world and then get the girl when you're done with that.

4. And there has to be lush colors. I don't pink, and yellow, and bright green but if you look at FF8, the world map looked kinda dull and ickish. But FF7's world map had brighter grass and such things.

[Edgar]

When considering RPGs, everything comes into place for me. Compared to FF series (and others) it must have (SPOILERS AHEAD):--

1) Ending like FFIX (I cried...)
2) Character development and involvement like FFVI
3) Less or no guns, more magic. (Less technology)
4) Music as long as it is ade my Nobuo and the Chrono Cross one (hard to type his name :P My apologies)
5) Battle system like FFIX, FFVI, or maybe FFVII.
6) Trance!! And the FFVII one!
7) Good storyline like FFIX, FFVII, FFVI, FFIV
8) Villians like THE GREAT KEFKA (FFVI)
9) More emotion and philosophy (FFIX, FFVIII)
10) Extreme battle music! (FFT)
11) Girls! (Espacially Garnet of FFIX)
12) More part-human mains (FFVI, Terra, Esper. FFIX, Zidane, Genome)
13) [for 3D PS ones] GRAPHICS that BLEND with each other and I SERIOUSLY EMPHASIZE!!!! (FFIX is one which bends quite well. I'm not gonna mention the rest.)

[Evelia]

I care most about the storyline and the combat system. For example, Xenogears' storyline was the main thing that kept me playing because the combat system was so bad. ;)

It's good when the graphics are nice, but they don't have to be. I think the soundtrack is important, too. But for a game, I need to like the storyline and the gameplay to make it worth going through the whole thing.

[Lord Xehanort]

Storyline! I can usually look past everything except story. I need plot twists, I need betrayal, I need action! My dad is just a :skull::skull::skull::skull:ing gun whore. If he sees me reading dialouge boxes he says: "What the :skull::skull::skull::skull: are you doing? Where's the :skull::skull::skull::skull:ing killing?" "But dad I am playing an RPG. I've told you before that not all games are senseless destruction and poorly designed naked women like Duke Nukem." "I don't wanna hear nothin' bad about the duke. This shit is boring as :skull::skull::skull::skull:! Where's the blood? Where's the guts? Where's the naked women?" *I point to ESRB rating of T* "What the :skull::skull::skull::skull:? Get this :skull::skull::skull::skull:in' shit offa my screen."

[Aya Nekoneko]

All 3 matter to me...

I guess storyline is the best because fantastic graphics are only that if it doesn't have a plot to hold it. Also, since RPGs are so heavily based on battle, a good, fun battle system sounds too good to pass up.

But of course, graphics matter to me too. ^^ Just a level below storyline and maybe on par with battle systems.

And good endings. Need good endings.

[Princess]

First it would have to be the storyline, then the characters and then the graphics and music..
Hmmm

[Kossage]

Well, the gameplay should be fun and practical so that one can adapt to it very easily. Then the story has to be good and memorable, and it has to contain interesting plot twists and have a deep message in it if possible.

Characters (heroes, villains, perhaps NPCs too) should be deep and interesting. The hero shouldn't be like "I'm going to save the world for no good reason!" but have some emotional dilemmas or something that gives him/her a good motive to save the world, and risk his/her life in doing so. Characters (both villains and heroes) should develop during the story too.

The villain(s) should be memorable and give a reason to why the protagonist should hate him/her. The villain shouldn't be like "I'm going to destroy/enslave the world for no good reason! Ha ha ha!" but do something more subtle first and then move on to more grandiose schemes like enslaving the world. He/she shouldn't do that just for fun, but for more complex reasons. The story is as good as its villain as Alfred Hitchcock once said, and I agree. The villain must be something you won't forget, like Darth Vader in Star Wars.

Music should also be good, and the themes should suit the events where they're meant, like the battle music should be aggressive, the final boss music should be somewhat epic, town music should be calm, world map theme should be fitting to the world etc. If the music doesn't suit the event where it was meant to be played, it won't work. And there should be recognizable and fitting themes for the hero(es) and for the villain(s).

The game should have varied objectives and optional minigames/sidequests to keep the player interested. The world should have its own history and political/religional differences so that there is a "grey" area between good and evil. Some good guys can, for example, betray you, while some bad guys might join with your forces. And there should be more objectives than "go there and kill all enemies", for example, you could infiltrate an enemy stronghold and steal something there etc. So objectives should have variety so that the player doesn't get bored while playing the game. There must also be some kind of illusion of freedom so that the player doesn't think that he's walking in a tube or something. There should be multiple paths to choose if possible.

Finally, there could be nice graphics if possible although it's not necessary. If the RPG looks magnificent and, for example, the final boss's spells are epic and good-looking, it will really make you feel that this is the fight for the world. An RPG can be good without eye-candy too, but if there is eye-candy, it's always a plus to me, although it's not necessary to have eye-candy for me to like the game. :p

There might be something that I've missed, but if I notice anything I forgot, I'll write it down.

EDIT: Engrish... :mad:

[Deathclaw]

***Storyline! I can usually look past everything except story. I need plot twists, I need betrayal, I need action! My dad is just a ing gun whore. If he sees me reading dialouge boxes he says: "What the are you doing? Where's the ing killing?" "But dad I am playing an RPG. I've told you before that not all games are senseless destruction and poorly designed naked women like Duke Nukem." "I don't wanna hear nothin' bad about the duke. This shit is boring as ! Where's the blood? Where's the guts? Where's the naked women?" *I point to ESRB rating of T* "What the ? Get this in' shit offa my screen."****

My dad and your dad seem to share the same opinion
"Where The $%#@ IS the ACtion? Where are the scantily clad BIT^$EST Son, are you a fruit or something?"

-Of course my dad plays golf games on the Pc so i don't take him too seriosly.

[Jebus]

Story definatly, is the No.1 for me, if theres a good storyline with good characters, I wouldn't care if it was completely linear, or had a crappy battle system.

After that, the music, the music must fit the scenes. I mean, would Aeris's death have been as sad if it played some up-beat, calliope music?

Everything else is just a plus, I'm perfectly fine playing a text-based rpg, so long as what I stated above is in order.

[Imperia]

Good story line, no plot holes, sticking to the point, sweet sexy heroes, STRONG heroines, and have at least SOME character developement and not just none... That's what I look for.:cool: