What are the best PS3 RPGs?

[Dignified Pauper]

Dark Souls - 'nuff said.

[Wolf Kanno]

Seeing everyone recommend PSN PS1 titles as the PS3's best RPGs is starting to get a little depressing...

It would be... if 360 or Wii had much to choose from either. There are only a handful on each system.
JRPG's are really a dying breed on home consoles. Portables are the way to go for them these days.

THE JACKEL

Pretty much, the 360 got some JRPG love at the start of the console generation, but its the 360... and the Wii is finally getting some gold but that pretty much only matters to Japan and PAL regions cause NoA is run by idiots who hate their fans. The DS and PSP on the other hand has a treasure trove of great JRPGs. I think big budget JRPG console titles will be few and far between, the genre has gone back to being a niche and the love affair is over it seems.

[Jiro]

Star Ocean: The Last Hope (International?) is on PS3 iirc. A possibility, perhaps.

[Mirage]

He asked for good RPGs.

[Jiro]

True. But it's a JRPG on PS3. 2/3 criteria ain't half bad, right?

[Mirage]

Well of course it isn't half bad, it is 1/3rd bad.

[NeoCracker]

And let us not forget Atelier Totori, Atelier Rorona, Trinity Univers, and Hyper Dimension Neptunia.

Last Rebelion had potenitial Story wise as so ridiculous (Yet they tried to take it seriously) that it was funny, but the gameplay was repetative as hell. Unique though, so they get credit.

[Mirage]

Yes, let us absolutely forget Hyperdimension Neptunia.

[Bolivar]

Mana Khemia's another!

But I third Jackel & Wolf's statements that there's a lot of original JRPG classics this generation, they're just on handhelds. With the expectations of what an HD game is supposed to be, JRPGs don't really hit the key spots to make a classic game. The biggest factor may be team size. FFXIII is the perfect example of how a bloated team, where no one knew what they wanted, lead to a mediocre idea being expounded upon into a full game. Smaller teams let you have that awesome vision and make it happen.

I also find it interesting you'll be studying for the bar, OP, I will be too this year, I just prefer not to think about it at all for as long as I can...

[NeoCracker]

Yes, let us absolutely forget Hyperdimension Neptunia.

That game was so cheesy and over the top though, I loved it beginning to end.

So to quote white heart, 'Stop talkin' all that trout out your ass!"

[Tarshish]

I also find it interesting you'll be studying for the bar, OP, I will be too this year, I just prefer not to think about it at all for as long as I can...

I'm graduating in December, so the February bar is right around the corner. It's about to get real. I know I'm going to need some relaxing before it hits. Especially after a semester with both business associations and secured transactions. Speaking of which, I've got to get back to studying for a secured mid term.

[Bolivar]

Secured transactions sounds insane (jealous you guys have mid terms, it's all the traditional law school finals over here), I took business organizations and loved it... it might've been because I had a good professor, but it really dispelled a lot of the myths or misconceptions about corporations that a lot of the trendy hipsters have... although i've heard that class can go either way.

In this case you might want to stick with what you know and revisit an older RPG you know you love and enjoy it again. It sounds like this might be one of your last times to chill and have some "me time" for a while, so you might want to do that.

[BG-57]

Dragon Age is great as already mentioned. Tremendous flexibility for character design and interactions and a complex involving story.

FFXIII is visually stunning with a few great characters as well as some appalling amounts of linearity and restricted gameplay for the first two thirds of the game. Great for fans of delayed gratification.

I'm playing Ar Tonelico Qoga and I like it despite its numerous flaws. It's got an often juvenile sense of humor with a heavy emphasis on fanservice (female characters boost song magic by losing clothing although the male characters do as well when executing ultimate supermoves). Despite this the premise is interesting, the music is great, and the world design is neat. The characters are recognizable out of any anime, but relatable.

It's basically an RPG crossed with a dating sim. There are two main female characters the hero can interact with and Dive into their minds to unlock new powers, song magic and alternate personalities. Depending on player choices, it's possible to obtain multiple endings with them or even hook up with another character or two.

I enjoyed it enough to look up the first two Ar Tonelico games for the PS2. They might be a better place to start for this game series frankly. AT1 has the same basic scenario but with a lot less fanservice.

[Del Murder]

What is the combat like in Dragon Age and Elder Scrolls? When I see videos of Elder Scrolls it shows both third person and first person perspectives. Do you fight in third person or first person mode? What non-RPGs are these games most like? I'm kind of new to the open world RPG scene. I've usually only played fairly linear JRPGs but I'd like to branch out since this appears to be what they make these days.

[NeoCracker]

Dragon Age is more turn based then it first looks at first glance. If anything, it's a slightly more action oriented FF XII with a less detail oriented Gambit, and the game is entirely third person. You can switch between all your party members.

It keeps tabs on Range and and area for area of effect and what not. If you want to keep more in lines of JRPG's, this is the closest you'll get from the more open world games.

And I honestly don't know how to compare games like Elder Scrolls and Fallout's to different Genre's, so you'll need to defer to some one else in that regard.