The Greatest RPG Of All Time
We like RPG's, yes? Unfortunately, there has been a relative lack of them in the current generations, and oftentimes they are either mediocre or the RPG elements are tacked on another genre (even to sequels of older RPG's!) So, I ask you, if you could borrow five RPG's from any platform, time, or series and use them as inspiration for the Greatest RPG of All Time, what would it be?
1. Fallout 2: What a Wonderful World
The Fallout series always had a detailed world with meaningful characters, but what made the series really stand out in this department was Fallout 2. In this game, it was all about influencing the world. Using its extensive history, multiple faction, and variety of locales to create a complex cast of locales that did the narrative justice. The locations were all wrought with their own problems, characters, and solutions, and the game never held your hand on how to deal with these obstacles, making experimentation, research, and decision-making into every area you went an intensive labor of love that rewarded the thorough.
What made this department even better was that the results of your actions were very much real and not always obvious. The whole world was tied together by events affecting them, and your reactions to them had consequences, and helped shape an organic world that responded and evolved due to your actions. Upon finishing the game and getting an extensive epilogue on the fates of the factions, characters, and locations I've touched is one of the most satisfying - or haunting - experiences I've had in gaming, and I'm incredibly disappointed that such a great example of an organic world has been so rarely matched.
2. Final Fantasy VI: Poignant Storytelling Without Insulting Your Intelligence
I love this game. What made it so great is in an age of HD graphics and professional voice acting, this game gave me so many chills and made me think far more than most any modern game. And why? Well, for one, the game tells a good story without needless complexities and painstakingly over-the-top attempts at creating drama. From Locke to Terra to Celes to Setzer to Shadow, the game's cast was likable and worthy of your sympathy, because they'd let their stories and motivations evolve naturally without feeling forced. The characters, and the plot as a whole, used minimalistic storytelling that was often optional but always gripping. And since these snippets of drama were so understated and uncommon, they made them more powerful.
What this game says is that while a complex, nuanced, plot can be great, a simple, original and heartfelt story can be just as effective without whiny speeches and "character complexities" that serve the bring down plots. In the end, that's the way the story should be in game, evolving naturally without unwanted exposition that fails to improve the quality of the narrative. "Complicated" doesn't mean "smart," and Final Fantasy VI's stories and characters are original and smart without needing to flesh out what isn't wanted or needed.
More to come later. Thoughts? Your own opinions? Post them here.
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Originally Posted by Del Murder
