Arc the Lad as well, but particularly Twilight of the Spirits. Not enough love for that game, but it was really well written.
Just taking a moment to second this. It's a rather unappreciated game I think. Style is tacticle RPG, no grids though, your characters have a field they can move and position themselves within each turn. Nice and simple but still keeps things interesting. Rather interesting plot (The game itself switches between two different parties), memorable characters (BEBEDORA!!!), a good solid game.
Just taking a moment to second this. It's a rather unappreciated game I think. Style is tacticle RPG, no grids though, your characters have a field they can move and position themselves within each turn. Nice and simple but still keeps things interesting. Rather interesting plot (The game itself switches between two different parties), memorable characters (BEBEDORA!!!), a good solid game.
It's a PS2 game.
A good solid game system tarnished by an utterly derivative story with almost no likable characters to speak of. BLARG RAGE HUMANS ARE BAD. BLARG RAGE DEIMOS (Seriously? Deimos?) ARE BAD. That sums up most of the characters motivations. I mean, one of the characters names is Darc. That's Fanfiction level naming right there. The battle system is great though. My advice for a "Story Heavy RPG" would to avoid this game like the plague itself.
Star Ocean: The Second Story! It's pretty story/character driven.
Two intertwining (but distinct) storylines that depend on which starting player you select.
A Private Action system that lets you separate from your party and interact with them (or strangers) one-on-one, which can change things significantly and unlock new plotlines.
What you say and do affects how your party feels about you (e.g. to pickpocket, you have to take Private Actions, otherwise your party starts to think of you as a common sneakthief.
Lots of choices on which characters to recruit and what to do, with your choices again affecting the ending of the game.
A rather unique (at least for JRPGs) battle system. And when a character is KO'd, any party members who were friends with them gets an ability boost to avenge their fallen friend.
I'd maybe recommend playing the PSP port though. The original PS1 version had a lot of flaws (terribly dubbed battle cries, "anime sappy" dialogue at times, etc.) but I've heard the port improves it a great deal.
But does it also a have plot, with multiple factions that reveal additional aspects of their backgrounds and motivations, or something like that? I am really looking mostly for games to play for the story primarily, with entertaining gameplay only as a pleasant bonus.
It has plot (especially if you have played the first edition, it's not mandatory, but storywise it helps a lot). Multiple factions? not so much. You do get background on the different characters (in the form of collectible echo recorders) but not different factions per se... the story itself though is quite nice and fun... (and the gameplay is well executed)
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It has plot (especially if you have played the first edition, it's not mandatory, but storywise it helps a lot). Multiple factions? not so much. You do get background on the different characters (in the form of collectible echo recorders) but not different factions per se... the story itself though is quite nice and fun... (and the gameplay is well executed)
Borderlands is not a plot-focused series. It's an FPS with standard "kill X of these guys" "get something from these guys" and "kill the boss" quests. Yes it has a plot. No it's not a story-heavy game.
Also, the game forces you to keep Claptrap alive and with you. Negative right there.
Borderlands is not a plot-focused series. It's an FPS with standard "kill X of these guys" "get something from these guys" and "kill the boss" quests. Yes it has a plot. No it's not a story-heavy game.
Also, the game forces you to keep Claptrap alive and with you. Negative right there.
Also, at least in the first game, the gunplay is really, really dull.
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That being said, I'm perfectly okay with WG being the ultimate winner of this thread. He's earned it.
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Sauron vs Voldemort, you say?
Easy: WG wins.
I did. It was dull. So I switched to Soldier-Dude, who was also dull. Sniper-Dude was marginally less dull, but only just. The gunplay never felt precise enough to be empowering, kinetic enough to be viscerally satisfying, or generally tight enough to feel good. And the setting was maybe the most monstrously dull thing I've seen in a very, very long time. Making it all faux-outrageous did nothing to liven it up the sixth time I had to shoot the same damn boring ugly aliens in the same damn spot so I could loot the same damn loot stack so I could hopefully get a slightly less bad variation of the same damn gun. I'm still confused how you can generate ten bazillion guns, and have all of them feel mediocre and/or weak.
I mean Far Cry 2 did the respawning checkpoint thing to death and beyond, but at least the guns were cool and felt distinctive.
So I went back to Crysis, where the guns are purpose built, precise, powerful and adaptable death machines. I also preferred Crysis' powers, which are fun, dynamic and accessible instead of shackled to an inane RPG system.
Also STALKER, which just plain does alien world FPS much better. Can't say STALKER's guns are precise exactly, but they feel like an authentic extension of the worn-out world they inhabit. And they're actually interesting to use, thanks to enemies who challenge through AI instead of being massive HP bricks.
Hell, I even like Rage better (although I played it after Borderlands). At least that was a pretty corridor semi-open world, with a massively satisfying shotgun.
__________________ EvilElitest's Blog. His stuff, my stuff as well. Currently a diary of me playing ArmA: Armed Assault. Give it a read whether you know what I'm talking about or not.
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Originally Posted by Ditto
That being said, I'm perfectly okay with WG being the ultimate winner of this thread. He's earned it.
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Originally Posted by Rowanomicon
We needed the ultimate funny, and it was delivered.
Sauron vs Voldemort, you say?
Easy: WG wins.
Star Ocean: The Second Story! It's pretty story/character driven.
Hey, I liked Star Ocean too! I don't recall it being too fiddly, either. I recall that the story was engaging and the characters were distinctive. Also, the sense that I could control the protagonist's actions in some small ways through Private Actions was a nice change in pace from other RPGs. The only things that I think might be issues for the OP are the crafting system and the overall tone of the game.
I also really liked Suikoden, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX and Breath of Fire III, which were all turn-based RPGs from the same time period - I think Final Fantasy VII has already been mentioned. All of those had strong stories with interesting characters while not having too many finicky character customization mechanics.
Unfortunately, though, most of the games that I can think of that have different factions that the protagonist can join also have lots of character customization and big open worlds.
Nobody's mentioned Final Fantasy Tactics yet? The original, proper one, not the watered-down, kid-friendly GBA/DS versions. It's definitely story-heavy; the original translation is a bit awkward at times, but there's something distinctly charming about it. Otherwise, there's the modernized-but-Shakesperianized PSP version, if you'd like. The mechanics are pretty simple, I think, once you're in the hang of it, though it'll take a bit of getting used to. It's my favorite Final Fantasy game, of the ones I've completed, though maybe I'm a bit biased, because it's also the most recent one I've completed.
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Nobody's mentioned Final Fantasy Tactics yet? ... Otherwise, there's the modernized-but-Shakesperianized PSP version, if you'd like.
As it's tied with FF6 and 7 as my favorite games of all time, this.
Also, Persona 3 and 4, though ideally you'd get P3 Portable instead of P3:FES or similar, because direct party control is... uh... nice. If no PSP, then P4 is the way to go.
There's also an in canon fighting game for Persona called Persona 4 Arena that has heavy storyline in between the fights, if you can manage a fighting game.
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Re: Looking for story-heavy console RPG
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Also, Persona 3 and 4, though ideally you'd get P3 Portable instead of P3:FES or similar, because direct party control is... uh... nice.
...
Well, that's damned annoying. The frag did they not put that in in the first place? (Not that I can play anything except the PS2 version anyway, but...)
Well, that's damned annoying. The frag did they not put that in in the first place? (Not that I can play anything except the PS2 version anyway, but...)
It was the design team being artsy.
Essentially, it's an extrapolation of the design philosophy that gave the Social Links. The characters in the game are their own people, whom the player must interact with to achieve his or her goals. Because of this, the player engages in extracurriculars with them, advancing their social links which provide benefits to the player when they attempt to fuse up new Persona for battle. In battle, that own person thing applies in the form of not having direct control over your allies. You can influence their decisions by asking them to engage in general strategies ('conserve SP', 'Kill em all', 'fight defensively', 'keep me alive') but ultimately what they decide to do is up to them.
They realized this was unnecessarily burdensome in P4 and allowed you to have full control if you do desire (it's another option in the Tactics menu) and they implemented it in the PSP port of P3 as well.
So yeah. Their design team got a bit too artsy in their development. But it's totally cool since you can just play P4 for now and maybe get a PS Vita down the line (letting you play P3 Portable and P4 Golden, which is the portable port of P4 adding lots of cool new stuff including two extra social links)
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Re: Looking for story-heavy console RPG
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Originally Posted by ryzouken
So yeah. Their design team got a bit too artsy in their development. But it's totally cool since you can just play P4 for now and maybe get a PS Vita down the line (letting you play P3 Portable and P4 Golden, which is the portable port of P4 adding lots of cool new stuff including two extra social links)
Eh, I tend to only play JRPGs the once (and I've got about seven or eight JRPGs on the PS2 (including P3 - which I got about half way through - and P4 Digital Devil Saga which I haven't even touched yet), plus a few on the PSP to play... I haven't used my PS2 much in the last year or two.
P4 and Digital Devil Saga are two different games and while both MegaTen they're about as far from each other as it is possible for two RPGs in the series to be. Also, Digital Devil Saga is only half a game and ends on a cliffhanger, requiring you to play the total insanity that is Digital Devil Saga 2 to get the rest of the plot.
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Re: Looking for story-heavy console RPG
