Top five RPGs on the DS

[Skyblade]

Is TWEWY really so good? Maybe I should check it out.

I kind of hate the combat system, and I really don't like the way the multi-act structure gates content and equipment.

But the important things: characters, setting, premise, writing, etcetera... Those are all really strong.

Actually, to me, combat system and non-gated content are kiiiiiind of the important things.

I love non-gated content. The problem was that everything was incredibly gated in that game. It was simply impossible to get the items required to obtain 95% of the shop items at any one time. To make things worse, there was absolutely no way of planning, because you had no foreknowledge of what shops would be available, or what they would require.


The combat overall was great, but there was absolutely no reason to force you to use the touch screen for it, and I just got sick of the amount of swiping and tapping it made you do. Button controls work fine, we know this because the game uses them for controlling the top screen. There is no reason they couldn't work for the bottom screen too.

[maybee]

1 Final Fantasy IV DS

2 Final Fantasy Tactics A2

3 Radiant Historia- Agree that it's better than TWEWY

4 Dragon Quest IX

5 Kingdom Hearts -DDD

[Del Murder]

That last one is 3DS! You should replace it with TWEWY.

[Yellow_Magic]

Oh God these questions are getting tougher and tougher :<

IN NO ORDER this time:

- TWEWY
- SMT: Devil Survivor
- SMT: Devil Survivor 2
- FFTA2
- Pokemon Black

I'm currently playing Radiant Historia and am finding it fascinating. It's gonna knock FFTA2 off that list at this rate..

[Skyblade]

That last one is 3DS! You should replace it with TWEWY.

It's not her fault there isn't a "Top Five RPGs on the 3DS" thread yet. Although I'm not sure anyone would want one, the Top Five are probably going to be really predictable.

Besides, we'd probably get Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days there instead.

[proseprincess]

I know the thread is a bit old, but I still wanted to share

1. Virtues Last Reward. This game was a sequel to 999, but I personally enjoyed VLR's story more, and what
a story it was! 999 & VLR have a fantastic plot. I'd definitely say that this series has the best storytelling on the 3DS. It's a tad unknown, but if you get the chance, check it out!

2. Bravely Default. I know many people get frustrated about the very repetitive second half, but I'm fairy tolerant, so the positive aspects really stand out. This has to be the prettiest game on the 3DS. The pop up style art looks amazing with the 3D and really exudes a "classic" feel. The plot is solid and I managed to form an attachment to our main characters

3. Persona Q. This is a very fan service-y game with a huge cast, that being so, some characters suffer from "one note" syndrome. Despite this, the design of the labyrinths and overall charm managed to win me over

4. Fire Emblem: Awakening. The cut scenes and sprites are gorgeous, the cast of characters very funny and have depth, plus the turn based combat is involving. The dating sim elements are really fun to play around with, too!

5. Leaving this slot open for Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate (though not sure if this is actually considered a RPG..)

[Fynn]

I know the thread is a bit old, but I still wanted to share

1. Virtues Last Reward. This game was a sequel to 999, but I personally enjoyed VLR's story more, and what
a story it was! 999 & VLR have a fantastic plot. I'd definitely say that this series has the best storytelling on the 3DS. It's a tad unknown, but if you get the chance, check it out!

2. Bravely Default. I know many people get frustrated about the very repetitive second half, but I'm fairy tolerant, so the positive aspects really stand out. This has to be the prettiest game on the 3DS. The pop up style art looks amazing with the 3D and really exudes a "classic" feel. The plot is solid and I managed to form an attachment to our main characters

3. Persona Q. This is a very fan service-y game with a huge cast, that being so, some characters suffer from "one note" syndrome. Despite this, the design of the labyrinths and overall charm managed to win me over

4. Fire Emblem: Awakening. The cut scenes and sprites are gorgeous, the cast of characters very funny and have depth, plus the turn based combat is involving. The dating sim elements are really fun to play around with, too!

5. Leaving this slot open for Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate (though not sure if this is actually considered a RPG..)

Those are all 3DS games, though.

[Vyk]

Maybe we should have a 3DS version. Though it'd probably still be fairly predictable. It's got a good handful of great RPGs, but still not a really huge variety yet

[krissy]

Radiant historia

[Spuuky]

The lack of Etrian Odyssey in this thread is profoundly disturbing to me.

[Vyk]

I've always been leary of those games due to their dungeon crawler nature. Is the encounter rate in there really not that bad? Is the combat system really fun? Is it really that interesting exploring an underground labyrinth?

(Legitimate questions. I'm not intending to call the game out on anything. I literally know nothing other than it is a dungeon crawler series, and those generally are not my cup of tea. But it seems everyone whose played that series has a real fondness for it. I'm not sure if it's the game's design itself, or if only fans of that genre are playing it, and it is just simply representing well a genre they already enjoyed)

[Skyblade]

I've always been leary of those games due to their dungeon crawler nature. Is the encounter rate in there really not that bad? Is the combat system really fun? Is it really that interesting exploring an underground labyrinth?

(Legitimate questions. I'm not intending to call the game out on anything. I literally know nothing other than it is a dungeon crawler series, and those generally are not my cup of tea. But it seems everyone whose played that series has a real fondness for it. I'm not sure if it's the game's design itself, or if only fans of that genre are playing it, and it is just simply representing well a genre they already enjoyed)

If you've played Persona Q, then you have a pretty dang good idea what Etrian Oddyssey is like. Very dungeon driven, but in a fun way, with good characters and strong writing.

[Vyk]

I thought the newest Etrian was the first one to add characters. Or do you mean they've always had good NPCs? I haven't played Persona Q since I haven't completed 4 yet, and my girlfriend is playing through P3P on the VitaTV and I'm getting that game's story through her (though she's completed both stories previously). I tried watching a review of PQ and was immediately hit with a huge P4 spoiler. But I get what's going on at least and it looks like a game I will eventually enjoys

I haven't had a lot of good experiences with first-person dungeon crawlers. Shining in the Darkness is a fond memory, but probably doesn't hold up by today's standards. I tried the PSP Persona, and even that seemed sadly too primitive. I tried Strange Journey on the DS, and it was surprisingly good, but the slog eventually got to me. I've heard some massively good things about the writing in Soul Hackers and I've been interested in that. But I've really had very little exposure, and the mechanics of the game seem to revolve around lots of random encounters. And I know the Japanese used to be VERY fond of ridiculously frequent encounter rates. So it scares me to dip my toes too deeply into the genre on the Japanese front

[Skyblade]

That might be so. I hadn't heard much of the series until the latest one, so you might be right. It has kind of flown under the radar.

[Pumpkin]

Not counting 3DS right? Also I'm counting games I've played on the DS, including games that were originally made on different systems

1. Dragon Quest V
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Rune Factory 3 (hi Skyblade!)
4. Luminous Arc 2
5. The Pokemans

We need more of these threads