Your top 10 RPGs, though you all are still top 10 RPGS ;P

[Wolf Kanno]

Inspired by the IGN article, what are your top ten favorite RPGs and why?

[Laddy]

As I said:

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Baldur's Gate II
3. Fallout 2
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Planescape: Torment
6. Final Fantasy IX
7. Persona 3
8. Final Fantasy VII
9. Deus Ex
10. Ultima IV

Honorable Mentions: Might & Magic IV, V, and VII, Fallout: New Vegas, Tales of Symphonia, Wizardry 8, Grandia, Return to Krondor, Morrowind, Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle, Persona 4, Knights of the Old Republic, Final Fantasty IV, XII, and Tactics.

[Fynn]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles
2. Kingdom Hearts (series)
3. Planescape: Torment
4. Final Fantasy XII
5. Baldur's Gate II
6. SMT: Persona 4
7. SMT: Digital Devil Saga
8. Final Fantasy VI
9. SMT: Strange Journey
10. Pokemon Black

This list is how I feel now. The first four are generally stable, but the rest are kind of dependant on my mood.

[Pete for President]

I'm a top 10 RPG's? You're a top 10 RPG's WK!

Anywho:

1: Dark Souls (who can deny the greatness that is Dark Souls?)
2: FFX (was #1 for almost a decade :0 )
3: Vagrant Story
4: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (as far as it's considered an RPG)
5: FFT (even though I don't own it : ( used to play this on a friend's PSP)
6: Valkyria Chronicles
7: FFIX
8: Pokémon Blue
9: Demon's Souls
10: I came to realize I don't have that many favorite RPG's...

[Pike]

I don't think I've played ten RPGs.

[Jinx]

oh god it burnssssssssss

[Bubba]

I refuse to answer this until the thread title has been altered...

[NeoCracker]

Firstly, why the smurf do you people always list your number 1 first? You are suppose to start at the bottom and build suspsense towards #1. I hate you all.

Secondly, I work on a list a bit later today!

[Quindiana Jones]

I haven't the willpower to put them in any proper order, so I'm just going to list my ten favourite RPGs as they come into my head.

FFIX
FFVI
FFV (haven't even finished this one yet!)
Lost Odyssey
Fallout: NV
FFXII
RuneScape
Baldur's Gate II
Dark Souls
FFVII

[Tigmafuzz]

I refuse to answer this until the thread title has been altered...

My first thought was "NO I AM NOT TEN RPGS"

[Fynn]

Firstly, why the smurf do you people always list your number 1 first? You are suppose to start at the bottom and build suspsense towards #1. I hate you all.

Secondly, I work on a list a bit later today!

Those glasses are suddenly VERY fitting...

[DMKA]

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. Xenogears
4. Final Fantasy X
5. Final Fantasy XIII
6. Final Fantasy VIII
7. Final Fantasy IX
8. Lost Odyssey
9. Final Fantasy XII
10. Kingdom Hearts

[krissy]

You're top 10 RPGs

awwwww thank youuuu blush blush

[Del Murder]

Don't have time to explain why and the order after number 5 is pretty much a rough guess.

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Chrono Trigger
4. Final Fantasy IV
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
6. Final Fantasy XI
7. Super Mario RPG
8. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
9. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
10. Secret of Mana

[NeoCracker]

Firstly, why the smurf do you people always list your number 1 first? You are suppose to start at the bottom and build suspsense towards #1. I hate you all.

Secondly, I work on a list a bit later today!

Those glasses are suddenly VERY fitting...

I do what I can.

Anywho...

I decided to limit myself to only one entry from a game series on this list. I'll cover in the description why that was the one used instead of the others.

Odd Mention: Fall Out New Vegas
This is an odd one for me. First off, I love the World in New Vegas, the characters are all great, and the story they are telling is great. It is bounds better then Fall Out 3, easily my
favorite Bethesda title. The games biggest problem is how damn buggy it is, which can get way more frustrating then any game should be allowed to be. Really though, this is a problem
with all their open world titles.

Really though, there is very little I dislike about the game (The Lonesome Road expansion being the exception, but that's a rant for another day. ). It's also got easily the
best motivation to do the main plot of any of these games. And, for the record, Benny is smurfing awesome.

Yet I don't really replay it, and I have no real desire to do so. Part of this problem comes in with the Legion, NCR, and House. NCR just feels kind of Generic, and it's hard to care to much
about them. Ceaser gets a lot of build up, yet you finally meat him and it's the most disappointing moment in the game. This isn't a guy who should be called Ceaser, he's a guy who should
be operating a small gang out of a dirty cave. House is great, but solely a self centered dick. Yet these are my only options? This or Anarchy?

At the same time though, so many of the stories and tales of the Mojave get wrapped up at the end depending upon your decisions, and there feels like real closure has happened. You feel as if
you had actually accomplished something, in stark contrast to Skyrim (Oddly the only Elder Scrolls I enjoy. ).

Really, as a result, I don't know how to place this game. o_O

Honorary Mention: Earthbound
This game is hilarious to me. This is probably the games biggest selling point right here. It has a solid battle system, and allows you to auto-win a lot of weak encounters so that you aren't just
wasting your time. The characters are fun, and the design is great. The reason this is low on the list is because regardless of how funny it is, it doesn't really do anything great in terms of story
or gameplay. It manages to do it all effectively though, so it has a nice little place in my heart.

Also DQ V was really close to making the list.

10. Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinestrals
This game was absolutely wonderful. Easily the best in the series, a favorite aspect of it was the puzzles. While on subsequent playthroughs they posed no threat, they were all very cleverly designed. The game is full of wonderful characters, as the IP system used in battle was amazing and allowed for a fair bit of customization, especially with the Capsule Monster you could select
to figth with you.

It is also one of the only RPG's that actually kills off Player Characters. (At the time, FF IV was the only US release title I can think did this, FF II and V would make use of this
as well.) Even now a days RPG's avoid killing your hero's, so I have a soft spot in my heart for a game that keeps from pulling punches.

It also has a very touching scene in which, rather then just leave the ruined town, your party stays behind to help Iris bury the dead as a show of respect, even though your characters had never so much as heard of this town before this. I shouldn't need to explain further why this bit was so awesome.

9. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen
This is my second favorite SRPG. The combat does an amazing job at both keeping you involved, and making you feel like the commander of the army. The game is actually a good challenge, the story is solid, and while the maps aren't amazing, a lot of the Sprites show a lot of work and detail.

The game even has 13 or so endings depending upon your choices and actions. Easily the best 'morality system' (Probably not a good way to describe it, but it fits well enough for now) that dwarfed even current generation games. It has a Reputation, how good or evil you are perceived, an Alignment (How good or evil you actually are) and Charisma. These three things, in conjunction with your handling of in game events and who you recruit determine you ending.

The biggest hold back, however, is how the weirdest things will affect your above three stats, yet the game never explains it all to you. You can find yourself on the ropes
trying to recover lost Alignment when you hadn't even realized it had fallen.

This holds it back from actually being the best, to not being higher on my list.

8. Dark Cloud 2
In all honesty, Dark Cloud 2 is probably the most flawed game on my list. I will go ahead and get the flaws out first. There is an obvious power tier in this game.
Max's Ridepod can destroy pretty much anything in this game, and nothing seems to have an advantage on it. Max's gun itself is pretty damn superior to Monica's magic, in
that there is no Situation in the game Magic works better. The only thing Monica does better is her sword is faster then the Wrench, so she can inch out a bit there, though
the speed doesn't really make up for the obvious power difference. In additions, Monica's Monster Transformations take a massive amount of effort to even make usable, they don't hold a candle even then to the Ridepod of Max's.

The story is pretty basic for the most part, and the main plot won't hit you with anything that'll shock you.

Now onto the good, while the main plot is basic, the actual characters in the story are superb. In addition, the Crest the Great Sage Chapter is absolutely wonderful, and easily the best part of the story overall. It also has the only real twist of the game plot when Erin takes on the name of Crest to become the Great Sage.

The combat is solid, and while it's clear Max is superior to Monica, she is still a lot of fun to break out. Building up and synthesizing your weapons is also a blast.

I would go on to say it's one of the games strongest points. You have a good variety of weapons to choose from, keeping your play style varied depending on how you evolve your wrenches, swords, guns and Armlets.

It has a great set of mini games such as Fishing, raising fish for competition, and Spheda to keep you entertained throughout the game. The town building aspect is great as well, though I do wish you had a bit more freedom in how to achieve goals for town growth.

The good in this game far out weighs the negative aspects of it. It's also one of the longer RPG's out there. And I love a good long RPG.

7. Dark Souls
This game makes the list for three reason. Firstly, the art design for this is absolutely gorgeous. It is easily one of the most aesthetically pleasing games
I have ever seen. There is not a moment in that game where I can say the design is bad. Hell, I can't even think of a time I'd say it's just above average.

Secondly, the gameplay is great. There are a lot of options on how to build your character, and the controls may take a bit, but they handle very well.

The third for me is difficulty. It's not often a game this hard comes out, though I love the challenge it offers. This is honestly one of the better reasons to
rank it this high for me, because I love a challenge. The more effort I put into a game to beat it, the more satisfying it is.

The story is alright, though nothing great. It does a well enough job to keep you invested, and there are a few stand out moments however.

6. Breath of Fire 2
Breath of Fire 2, for me, is the coming together of all elements of classical JRPG's and fine tuning them to there highest point. As a fan of the classic JRPG
this game was probably a lot more enjoyable to me then others. While graphics weren't as good as other SNES RPG's like FF VI and Chrono Trigger, is sported some
amazing looking in Battle Sprites, probably the most detailed of the Genre time.

The story and characters were both wonderful as well. There is a good amount of time fleshing out the world you live in, and the villain slowly begins to show himself
throught the course of the game, leading into the twists of the plot. This game shows a fair amount of depth I'd wish a lot more RPG's would start taking notes from.


5. Devil Survivor 2
This right here is my favorite SRPG of all time. The only real downside to this game is that it is on a handheld. I hope for the day Shin megami brings Devil
Survivor to a console where it rightfully belongs.

As is typical with Megaten, they game is hard. Very hard, but not unfairly so. Anything you can do as a player, the AI can do as well. Best of all, the AI will take advantage of this. It'll even try to lure your units into traps, as it were. It's among the best SRPG AI i've ever seen.

As is typical with the Genre, your team is highly customizable. Four units of three guys each and a ridiculous amount of combat abilities create a more versatility
then a game like Final Fantasy Tactics.

The maps are all well designed, the art designs are amazing, and the characters are all amazingly written. One of my favorite parts is being able to, essentially,
pick a side in the struggle at the end, and unlike in New Vegas, I can look at all four options available and understand and empathize with everyone views.

Hell, Joe, my favoirte character, probably puts forth the best argument I've ever heard for a communistic society (Still against it mind you, but smurf it's a hard point to shut down.)

4. Chrono Trigger
This game may well be tied with Devil Survivor 2 for this spot. I chose this for the #4 stop out of Nostalgia.

I really shouldn't have to go over why this is such a great game. Hell, Bolivar's rants against it are more then enough to get you to side with it. ;P

Great world design, great characters, innovative Dual Tech System, and more open then most RPG's on the SNES at the time. (FF VI being about the only other contender for that spot, at least if you ignore DQ V since it hadn't been released in the states yet. )

I will avoid beating this debate with a stick any more though, we have enough of that in the other thread.

3. Final Fantasy IX
This was one of the hardest choices for me. Not so much putting this game at 3, but picking FF IX over VI. The reason I went with IX is with FF VI, depending on the day you catch me I may say Chrono Trigger is the superior game (Though most times I'll say VI). I would never say that about IX. VI has a wonderful cast, an amazing world, wonderful music, and a terrific villain.

Perhaps because of my love of old school RPGs, I can look past the slower pace of FF IX's battle system (Though I only really find it slow early on) and on pretty much every note FF IX beats out VI. Dancing mad being the exception, I find IX's music superior. The World design is absolutely wonderful, though I find them pretty tied on the Final Dungeon design.

It also has the advantage of posing more of a challenge then VI. Still not a very difficult game, mind you, but more effort was taken.

And as much as I loved VI, it was at least in part responsible for starting a bad trend in FF. Everyone can learn all spells, mixed with Esper Per Level stat bonuses, make a lot of your characters basically the same near end game. FF IX manages to keep your characters unique. I know a lot of people aren't a huge fan of lacking in the ability to customize their characters more (There is a little bit, but not really enough to begin comparing it to the likes of VI-VIII), it keeps the characters feeling more distinct. This is something VI loses around half way through the game.

In the end, IX manages to inch just ahead of VI in all categories.


2. Xenosaga Episode 3
There is no reason to really go into depth as to why 3 was pitted over 1 and 2. 2 was, pretty unanimously, the worst entry of the saga. While I think it gets treated harsher then it should, there were a lot of massive set backs to the gameplay and customization system.

Three, however, took all the best aspects of 1 and 2 (Okay, it only really took 2's superior Boost System, since it's the only thing the game did right), and made an amazing game from all they had learned. The series on a whole has some of gamings darkest moments, and a truly great plot for those who stuck through the ride of all three games. Even with all the behind the scenes complications, pretty much everything was wrapped up. The game has no wasted time in terms of plot, challenging gameplay, and great art design.

It's also a game that, during they end, doesn't pull it's punches and actually kills off characters you'd come to care about, they make you sympathies with someone who was a sadistic and threatening villain, gives you fun Mech Battles, and wraps up with a
satisfying conclusion. I know a lot of people will disagree, but you're a bunch of sycophants anyway, so bugger off!

1. Persona 4
This is the standard by which all RPG's should live up to. It has probably the best character development in any RPG I've ever played, rivaled only by games like Xenosaga and Persona 3. This game wins out over Persona 3 for surpassing three in pretty much ever imaginable way. (3, however, did a couple social links better and the three types of physical attacks was wonderful, but on a whole 4 still did better)

Since we have a thread on persona already, and I've talked to death about this, I'll avoid going on for to long on this one gain.

I will say though, in the modern gaming era Atlus is pretty much the RPG king, releasing the best RPG's of not only this generation, but some of the best ever made, and actually treat it's audience like adults who can handle and understand
the darker tones of the plot and subtleties.