killthenet Posted April 27, 2016 Posted April 27, 2016 As some of you may know, I've recently been trying to broaden my gaming horizons. I started playing through the 'Metal Gear Solid' series and with a PS3 arriving later this week I'm keen to start working my way through all the classic games that system has to offer. One game genre that I've never really been able to get into is turn based RPG's. Pokemon is the only game of that ilk that i've ever played for an extended period, but I really want to try and work my way through the Final Fantasy series at some point, so those of you who've played a variety of turn based games, what would you recommend? Should I go back to the very early days of Final Fantasy on the NES and SNES, or should I start with something like Fire Emblem?
Hero-of-Time Posted April 27, 2016 Posted April 27, 2016 On the PS3 I recommend that you play Ni No Kuni. It's a fantastic JRPG that shares a few mechanics with Pokemon. You could play a few of the PSOne classics on the PS3. Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX are essential JRPGs to be played.
Ike Posted April 27, 2016 Posted April 27, 2016 Fire Emblem is a strategy game with RPG elements, you should deffo check it out still though. Try the Dragon Quest games, if you like Pokemon then start with DQV if you can.
killthenet Posted April 27, 2016 Author Posted April 27, 2016 Thanks guys! I've definitely liked the look of what we've seen of Dragon Quest on the 3DS, so sounds like a good idea for me to check them out! On the PS3 I recommend that you play Ni No Kuni. It's a fantastic JRPG that shares a few mechanics with Pokemon. You could play a few of the PSOne classics on the PS3. Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX are essential JRPGs to be played. Do you think i'll be missing anything if I start Final Fantasy with the PS1 entries?
Hero-of-Time Posted April 27, 2016 Posted April 27, 2016 Do you think i'll be missing anything if I start Final Fantasy with the PS1 entries? Not at all as they are all self contained stories. What consoles do you have access to? It will be easier to recommend stuff if we know what you have.
Nolan Posted April 27, 2016 Posted April 27, 2016 Final fantasy games are all (with a few exceptions) self sufficient games in their own worlds. I'm going to recommend any Persona games, though they can be difficult for a newcomer to JRPGs.
killthenet Posted April 27, 2016 Author Posted April 27, 2016 I've got access to NES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, Game Boy, GBA, DS, 3DS, PS3, PS2 and Dreamcast. So a pretty wide net for recommendations.
Hero-of-Time Posted April 27, 2016 Posted April 27, 2016 I've got access to NES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, Game Boy, GBA, DS, 3DS, PS3, PS2 and Dreamcast. So a pretty wide net for recommendations. Off the top of my head... Skies of Arcadia for the GameCube ( much better than Dreamcast version ) Chrono Trigger for 3DS Final Fantasy X HD for PS3 Final Fantasy IV, V VI for GBA Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX for PSOne Baten Kaitos for GameCube Paper Mario for GameCube Golden Sun 1 & 2 for GBA/Wii U Virtual Console Dragon Quest IV, V, VI for DS Skies of Arcadia is such an amazing game and I recommend playing that first. It's not too difficult, has a great story, is light hearted and the characters are very lovable. Chrono Trigger has the same kind of appeal.
Nolan Posted April 27, 2016 Posted April 27, 2016 Grandia 1 and 2 (DC version for the second) are great games. Unrelated to each other so playing the second first is fine. Otherwise I second HoTs list.
nekunando Posted April 28, 2016 Posted April 28, 2016 Skies of Arcadia is such an amazing game and I recommend playing that first. It's not too difficult, has a great story, is light hearted and the characters are very lovable. Skies of Arcadia is definitely a great choice I played the Dreamcast version throughout February and March and had a really enjoyable experience As with @killthenet, I had trouble getting into the idea of turn-based RPGs as I didn't think I'd enjoy them and wasn't keen on the idea of not being completely in control of the battles. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was the perfect introduction for me and I followed it up with the original Golden Sun on GBA and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn on DS. I recommend all of these titles for anyone interested in dipping their toe into the genre as they all worked for me There are things I still don't appreciate about the genre, such as grinding, random battle encounters and not always knowing which order characters will take their turn in battle but having played through the games I mentioned previously along with Xenoblade Chronicles, I don't feel as intimidated anymore.. even if Sticker Star left something of a sour taste towards the end I'm excited to play Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger on the Wii VC as well as finishing the original Paper Mario
Agent Gibbs Posted April 28, 2016 Posted April 28, 2016 Off the top of my head... Skies of Arcadia for the GameCube ( much better than Dreamcast version ) Chrono Trigger for 3DS Final Fantasy X HD for PS3 Final Fantasy IV, V VI for GBA Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX for PSOne Baten Kaitos for GameCube Paper Mario for GameCube Golden Sun 1 & 2 for GBA/Wii U Virtual Console Dragon Quest IV, V, VI for DS Skies of Arcadia is such an amazing game and I recommend playing that first. It's not too difficult, has a great story, is light hearted and the characters are very lovable. Chrono Trigger has the same kind of appeal. Grandia 1 and 2 (DC version for the second) are great games. Unrelated to each other so playing the second first is fine. Otherwise I second HoTs list. Gotta echo these, its what i came to post Would anyone recommend to him Metal Gear Ac!D? it was a turn based almost pokemon like metal gear game, i actually loved them @Nolan have you played the Pc version of Grandia 2? i bought it and played upto the first boss and its an odd little port, some graphics are higher res and others look like stretched dreamcast assets (hence them dropping the HD name i assume) but its playable
killthenet Posted April 28, 2016 Author Posted April 28, 2016 Thanks for your help guys! I'm going to play through 'Affordable Space Adventures' first, then start on 'Skies Of Arcadia'
Nolan Posted April 28, 2016 Posted April 28, 2016 @Nolan have you played the Pc version of Grandia 2? i bought it and played upto the first boss and its an odd little port, some graphics are higher res and others look like stretched dreamcast assets (hence them dropping the HD name i assume) but its playable I played a little bit of it, and it seemed playable. I'm betting it's just a slightly reworked port of the original port; the one that had redundant video files that needed to be deleted to keep the game from hard locking. I'm just figuring the DC version is still the superior one is all.
Glen-i Posted April 29, 2016 Posted April 29, 2016 Thanks for your help guys! I'm going to play through 'Affordable Space Adventures' first, then start on 'Skies Of Arcadia' Good choice (Well, the Gamecube version is, Dreamcast suffers from horrendous loading times and irritating encounter rates). Fair warning though, it's a pretty lengthy game. So clear your schedule. Oh, and the GC version has one change that's the most important of them all, and that is main characters having separate fingers on their hands instead of a single block. After that, I would recommend Chrono Trigger (SNES or DS, it's up to you). I really have to get around to playing Final Fantasy 9 now that the PC version is out...
Rummy Posted April 29, 2016 Posted April 29, 2016 I've gone off turn-based over time, and tbh a lot of what I used to play I did usually with hacks/cheats to pass it all through a bit faster. Having said that a game that for a reason I can't recall that really sticks out in my mind was Breath of Fire on GBA. I'm sure it was the first one I played but can't quite recall. Both were originally SNES made but got a slight updated remake for GBA and my sister bought one of them and I just remember smashing through it in a couple of days. Whilst it had a turn-based battle system it also had some sort of character ability/aspects to it that I found enjoyable from what I recall. My memory's hazy but it's weird how it sticks out for me. Otherwise I'd definitely echo trying Chrono Trigger, which I played on the DS. I didn't finish due to time and commitment but I really did enjoy the many hours I played of it. I'd recommend the Paper Mario games after you've done a couple of the others - whilst turn based the Mario RPG/TB games add a real time element to their battles that avoid it feeling too grindy at times.
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