Good RPGs for Gamecube/DS/PS2?

[fresh fruit for Adol]

Ehhhh, Legendia has amazing music and pretty much nothing else going for it.

Seconding Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss, though. And FFIX; it's on the PS1, though, so even though the PS2 will be able to play it, it might be harder to find. I also liked Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos Origins for the Gamecube, though I haven't played them in years and I have a sneaking suspicion that I'd find the original BK hilariously bad, just judging by a few scenes I watched while my brother played it a few months ago. They're probably good if you don't approach them too seriously, and the battle systems are interesting, especially BKO's. And they're pretty.

My biggest problem with Abyss is the amount of backtracking; normally I couldn't care less for it, but it has copious amounts of backtracking, which makes the story drag on even more than it already does. Certainly doesn't stop it from being a good game, no, but if one has access to any of them, I'd say Vesperia, Destiny PS1, and Eternia/Destiny II are much better choices in regards to Tales titles.

Legendia's actually not that bad, and after finishing the main quest, you have character quests, which is a chance to get a more in depth look into each character's background, personality, and relationships with each other and other NPCs. it's good for maybe a couple playthroughs, and the combat's decent, considering it's essentially using Eternia's battle system with the physics of a Soulcalibur/Tekken game >.>

costumes are rather lackluster though D: voicework's excellent though, and it's one of the few games outside of Shadow Hearts with humor that actually makes me lol.

 

[Clover]

My DS recommendations. Short list: TWEWY. Oh, but more recently, if you like Ace Attorney, grab Ghost Trick. :D I need more people to yell at over the wtfending.

Second of all, the few RPGs that WERE on the 'Cube, I can recommend with confidence; Evolution Worlds was fun. Give that a try if you can find it.


And uhh. It'd be a sin for me to not recommend Knights in the Nightmare.


EDIT2OMFG: forgot Steal Princess and Devil Survivor for the DS. Granted, Devil Survivor Overclocked on the 3DS will make it obsolete, it's still an awesome game, and worth looking into.

Holy shiz you are literally the only other person I've heard of who's played Evolution Worlds besides myself and my best friend. Hahahaha. It is definitely one of my top GCN games.

Also hello there Atlus. Are you also an Atlus fan? :D Have you tried Luminous Arc and Touch Detective and Swordcraft Story and all those other Atlus games I recommend up in that link thar?

I have never actually finished either SMT Devil Survivor or Strange Journey, though I have both. They're freaking tough, man! This is also why I haven't gotten very far on Etrian Odyssey, though it's also Atlus. Well, that and it looked plot-lite. I do not like plot-lite.

I'm slowly making my way through Professor Layton and the Specter's Flute. :D but I don't know if Professor Layton counts as an rpg. ehe.

 

[Superbird]

Other than that, I've been quite enjoying FFIV on the DS, even though the monsters in the last dungeon get slightly riddiculous and on a couple of floors you can run into random encounter boss battles, which you are unable to flee from! Oh well.

You can flee from everything in the last 4 floors. I've done it.

My problem with that game is that I can't beat the final boss. It keeps using Big Bang twice in a row before I have a chance to heal anyone... ;_;

 

[Blaziking the God General]

You can flee from everything in the last 4 floors. I've done it.

My problem with that game is that I can't beat the final boss. It keeps using Big Bang twice in a row before I have a chance to heal anyone... ;_;

Grinding is your friend. When I finally beat the final boss I was about level 75ish for everyone. Plus, the HP+50%, Omnicasting, and Dualcasting augments are Rosa's best friends.

Plus it only uses Big Bang 2x in a row when it's in a certain window of health. The best way to get through it is to constantly have Kain jumping, constantly summon Bahamut (restoring MP when necessary), and throwing the most powerful items you have. Cecil should just attack (or better yet, be Berserked!) and Rosa should be on constant standby. That's how I won.

 

[Superbird]

Everyone's level 79. Rosa has MP+50%. Rydia has Fast Talker. The problem is, even with the best equipment possible, that attack still kills everyone but Rosa and Cecil. And I can never get Kain to jump at the right time. Oh, and the fact that it hits the entire party with Flare is cheap. BTW, I accidentally forgot to give FuSoYa enough augments for Omnicasting and Phoenix.

...I'm waiting for New Game Plus (if I ever get there) to do all the fun stuff like rainbow pudding and tails, etc.

 

[Blaziking the God General]

Everyone's level 79. Rosa has MP+50%. Rydia has Fast Talker. The problem is, even with the best equipment possible, that attack still kills everyone but Rosa and Cecil. And I can never get Kain to jump at the right time. Oh, and the fact that it hits the entire party with Flare is cheap. BTW, I accidentally forgot to give FuSoYa enough augments for Omnicasting and Phoenix.

...I'm waiting for New Game Plus (if I ever get there) to do all the fun stuff like rainbow pudding and tails, etc.

I never got the tails or anything. To be honest, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go back through the game so that you can get the HP+50%, Dualcast, Omnicast, and Phoenix augments. I've gotten through the game with out Dualcast, but for the final battle Omnicasting and HP+50% on Rosa are must haves. That way she survives and can cast Arise on everyone before she dies. That's really my best suggestion.

 

[Superbird]

Oh...I have HP+50% on Cecil. ehehe.

I've already gone through the game once, what's one more?

Oh, and I may just get Pheonix and put it on Kain.

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

My DS recommendations. Short list: TWEWY. Oh, but more recently, if you like Ace Attorney, grab Ghost Trick. :D I need more people to yell at over the wtfending.



Holy shiz you are literally the only other person I've heard of who's played Evolution Worlds besides myself and my best friend. Hahahaha. It is definitely one of my top GCN games.

Also hello there Atlus. Are you also an Atlus fan? :D Have you tried Luminous Arc and Touch Detective and Swordcraft Story and all those other Atlus games I recommend up in that link thar?

I have never actually finished either SMT Devil Survivor or Strange Journey, though I have both. They're freaking tough, man! This is also why I haven't gotten very far on Etrian Odyssey, though it's also Atlus. Well, that and it looked plot-lite. I do not like plot-lite.

I'm slowly making my way through Professor Layton and the Specter's Flute. :D but I don't know if Professor Layton counts as an rpg. ehe.

Good to know someone else has played Evolution Worlds :D I loved it <3

Aye, I've played all of those except for Touch Detective. Swordcraft Story 3 was definitely one of the better ones. I've played almost all of those games :B Knights in the Nightmare is easily my favorite though. I absolutely love the Department Heaven series and Sting's other games; Hexyz Force really good :D

Loved Etrian Odyssey too, but that's just me and my love for roguelikes.

Don't think it counts as an RPG, but I'll throw Ghost Prick: Phantom DefectiveGhost Trick: Phantom Detective, on account of awesome.

 

[Clover]

Good to know someone else has played Evolution Worlds :D I loved it <3

Aye, I've played all of those except for Touch Detective. Swordcraft Story 3 was definitely one of the better ones. I've played almost all of those games :B Knights in the Nightmare is easily my favorite though. I absolutely love the Department Heaven series and Sting's other games; Hexyz Force really good :D

Loved Etrian Odyssey too, but that's just me and my love for roguelikes.

Don't think it counts as an RPG, but I'll throw Ghost Prick: Phantom DefectiveGhost Trick: Phantom Detective, on account of awesome.

Man I barely remember anything about it now, though, haha. Linear was awesome and also

Spoiler

, it had the BEST NAMES EVER Chain Gun Pepper Box Gre Nade thank you very much, Pepper had less shorts than Shiki, I think, which would be quite a feat... I don't think I got very far into part two. I forget if the voice acting was genuinely good or just hilariously good.

What's Swordcraft Story 3, Twin Age? I think there's only three swordcraft stories in English; the two for the GBA and then Twin Age, so...

I had to google 'Department Heaven', and then raised my eyebrows 'cause I actually have Riviera! I never played it, but I bought it at Gamestop for four bucks just because of the Atlus label. I might just have to actually start it now...!

The only roguelike I'm actually any decent at is PMD, herpderp. :B

frick yes someone else who will get my usertitle of the now. (maybe possibly :B it was optional dialogue during chapter 13) DID YOU BELIEVE WHEN THE SPOILER SPOILERED i did not believe it

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

What's Swordcraft Story 3, Twin Age? I think there's only three swordcraft stories in English; the two for the GBA and then Twin Age, so...

Nono. Swordcraft Story was the subtitle of that particular Summon Night series. There was a third one on the GBA that we didn't get called Craft Sword Monogatari: Hajimari no Ishi, that upgraded the battle system even more, letting you tag in and out with your Summon in battles. Twin Age was a random standalone title that wasn't that good D:

Also uhh, not clicking the link; still haven't finished Ghost Trick :B I'm getting there though, but it's easily something I can recommend.

 

[Erif]

Good to know someone else has played Evolution Worlds :D I loved it <3

Aye, I've played all of those except for Touch Detective. Swordcraft Story 3 was definitely one of the better ones. I've played almost all of those games :B Knights in the Nightmare is easily my favorite though. I absolutely love the Department Heaven series and Sting's other games; Hexyz Force really good :D

Loved Etrian Odyssey too, but that's just me and my love for roguelikes.

Don't think it counts as an RPG, but I'll throw Ghost Prick: Phantom DefectiveGhost Trick: Phantom Detective, on account of awesome.

Evolution Worlds and the first Swordcraft Story are my childhood, btw. =|

I've come to realize that I can trust anything that Atlus has been involved in. Seriously; they been a part of the Persona series, Demon's Souls, and Summon Night: Swordcraft Story, and Luminous Arc some of my favorite games. They're also doing The Last Crusade, and seeing how Aqua here won't shutup about Knights in the Nightmare (xd), I'm going to have to try that out soon, too. And they've also been involved with Odin's Sphere, Tactics Ogre, two classic games that I've been meaning to buy for awhile now. Especially Odin's Sphere.

You can't go wrong with Atlus.

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

Evolution Worlds and the first Swordcraft Story are my childhood, btw. =|

I've come to realize that I can trust anything that Atlus has been involved in. Seriously; they been a part of the Persona series, Demon's Souls, and Summon Night: Swordcraft Story, and Luminous Arc some of my favorite games.

Well, they weren't just a PART of Persona or Demon's Souls. They created MegaTen as a whole, and practically collaborated with From Software to make Demon's Souls. MegaTen is pretty much their flagship series with enough fire to have kept it going for 20 years now.

Also, Innocent Sin remake on the PSP in April. You can choose between the original OST or a new one :D

They're also doing The Last Crusade, and seeing how Aqua here won't shutup about Knights in the Nightmare (xd), I'm going to have to try that out soon, too.

Well hey, sorry for Knights being my favorite game. All the games in the Department Heaven series are awesome, you can't deny that~

And they've also been involved with Odin's Sphere, Tactics Ogre, two classic games that I've been meaning to buy for awhile now. Especially Odin's Sphere.

^But then they decided NOT to touch Muramasa the Demon Blade D: Ignition went and localized it instead :/ Not that there's anything wrong with how they did it, but if Atlus had brought it over it would've gotten better advertising and sales that it deserved.

Odin Sphere was great <3 TC would do well to look into that too. It's the only game that lets you grow sheep on a tree.

Also, speaking of Tactics Ogre, remake for the PSP comes out next week :D it's like FFTactics, but better.

 

[Storm Earth and Fire]

Mana-Khemia has already been mentioned. By the same company, however, is Atelier Iris, which is just as wonderful if you're looking for something with a very similar feel and a more epic storyline.

Xenosaga Episode I is fantastic, except for the gameplay. If you're willing to sit through the battles, which after a little bit are filled with long unskippable animations you'll see thousands of times, then the setting, the story, the characters are all cool. Episode II and III are less spectacular, but you may as well play them as they are also dirt cheap.

Xenogears is the progenitor of Xenosaga, and a better game overall, but expensive. A friend of mine picked up a pristine one at a local shop for $36, which is actually below average for the game.

Symphonia is the only Tales game I've played through, and I must say the multiplayer capability made the game that much cooler.

Skies of Arcadia Legends is a beautiful remake of the Dreamcast original. One of my favorite RPGs of all time, it's just so different from it's contemporaries.

Evolution Worlds is not a bad choice, however it only contains about half of the first of the original Dreamcast games.

Riviera is really cool, but very hard to find in brick-and-mortar shops. I bought my copy during a vacation in California for $27. Just note that the game is really hard.

Continuing on the GBA and Dept. Heaven, I really enjoyed Yggdra Union as well. The gameplay is very interesting, but again, the game itself is really hard.

 

[Espeon]

Oh...I have HP+50% on Cecil. ehehe.

I've already gone through the game once, what's one more?

Oh, and I may just get Pheonix and put it on Kain.

I didn't realise you had to use augments to gain more until pretty late on! So I pretty much stand no chance against the final boss.

I have Cecil with Draw Attacks and Counter, Rydia has Bless, Rosa has Omnicasting, Kain has Phoenix and I don't think I gave Edge anything. :x

Being able to set up haste on the entire party in one action is very useful. :D

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

Agh, I totally forgot to mention Shining Force EXA for the PS2. Nice hack n' slash dungeon crawler, and took all of Shining Force NEO's good and bad parts and improved upon all of them. The voice work, despite not having any well known actors, is actually pretty decent, and CG cutscenes are rather aesthetically pleasing :o

Suikoden V is also a good one to look into. After how bad Suikoden IV was, it's a nice breath of fresh air, and it's easily on par with Suikoden II. Like, no joke. It's actually really good. it essentially takes Suiko II's playstyle and turns it into 3D, and its visual style, but adds lots of different shades of orange and yellow (normally ugly colors, I feel, but they look really nice with this game), and it has a story that's simply brilliant. Pay close enough attention, you can see some connections between this and the original Suikoden a few characters have. Not counting a certain recurring character, of course.

Oh, and the scripted duels are awesome.

 

[Superbird]

I didn't realise you had to use augments to gain more until pretty late on! So I pretty much stand no chance against the final boss.

I have Cecil with Draw Attacks and Counter, Rydia has Bless, Rosa has Omnicasting, Kain has Phoenix and I don't think I gave Edge anything. :x

Being able to set up haste on the entire party in one action is very useful. :D

And reflect, for that matter. But really, Edge has enough going for him that you really don't /need/ to give him any augments. I gave him Gil Farmer, just for the helluvit, but...yeah.

I'm now replaying the game again and have just become a Paladin.

 

[Blaziking the God General]

And reflect, for that matter. But really, Edge has enough going for him that you really don't /need/ to give him any augments. I gave him Gil Farmer, just for the helluvit, but...yeah.

I'm now replaying the game again and have just become a Paladin.

The first time I beat the game (end of December, two years after getting the game) I really didn't use too many augments. If I remember correctly, my augment setup was something like this:

Cecil: Counter
Kain: Cry, Darkness
Edge: Exp. Boost (or whatever it was called)
Rosa: HP+50%, Omnicasting
Rydia: MP+50%

Rosa's really the only one to be concerned about, I found. Counter is useful for random encounters, Cry is useful because it's always nice to lower defense, Darkness is nice for a damage boost, Exp. Boost is good for grinding, and MP+50% is good for spamming Bahamut. None of that is really necessary, though. HP+50% on Rosa allows her to survive Big Bang, and Omnicasting allows her to cast Arise on everyone else before she dies. If you have dualcasting, then she can heal herself afterwards as well.

I love how difficult the DS version is.

 

[Superbird]

It really is. Well, I'm about to beat Cragzanno or whatever its name is. And I will be getting Dualcast—I've found it to be *quite* useful.