RPG's To Start With...

if you mean a old good game for the snes chrono trigger and earthbound or a game from the dragon warrior saga

fos psone legend of dragoon

for n64 try battle ogre 64 (it's not directly a rpg but it's good)

if you mean for ps2-persona 3 fes and dragon quest 8 are as good as a final fantasy.valkyrie profile is great, shadow hearts 2 and 3 are good,

disgaea 2(for ps2) this last game(and any game made by nippon ichi) is a fantastic strategical rpgs but it's for harcore gamers so it's not easy too play,but the good part is that you need tons of hours to beat the definitive enemy you can level up until level 9999 althougth you only need around level 90 to end the game

for xbox 360 try lost Odyssey

for ps3...nothing until disgaea 3

for gamecube or wii try any zelda or a paper mario

Paper Mario (N64/GC) or Guardian's Crusade (PS1) for ease of use.

"Tales of"(~all) or Skies of Arcadia (DC/GC) for story.

Chrono series (Trigger and Cross)

Legend of Dragoon

Tales of - (Symphonia if you have a Cube/Wii)

FFs IV, VI, VII, and IX

Grandia series (1 and 2 more so than 3)

If you have never played a RPG and you want a simple to learn RPG you should try Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES). despa1r_fact0r

just because Square made a simple RPG doesn't mean it's a good entry level RPG... it sucks and will just turn people off

kingdom hearts??glitterscarlet

There's a multitude of good RPGs out there. My first RPG was Final Fantasy VII, and I think most beginner RPG players start there because there's so much hype around the game. Granted, it is one of my favorite games to date, but I don't necessarily suggest starting there. Chrono Trigger (on the SNES; not the aweful PS1-port) is a great start. Even though you've already played Xenogears, perhaps a replay of that would be good; Xenogears is in my top five games of all time. Kingdom Hearts wouldn't be a bad start, either, but it's just not as great of a game, in my opinion.

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy IX

Chrono Trigger (SNES version ONLY)

Xenogears (again, I suppose)

Kingdom Hearts

Legend of the Dragoon

Parasite Eve (if you're at all into shooters, this is a great RPG-shooter style hybrid)

Tales of series is definetly worth checking out. honestly.rpgmadboy

I don't know if it has been mentioned but the Dragon Quests are a nice area to start with. The early Dragon Quests are very straight-forward, turned based, traditional RPGs. I would play these if you don't mind old NES and SNES games. For PSX I'd check out the Final Fantasies (I know you said you didn't want us to include these games but they are great).

Pretty much most of the early Square and Enix RPGs are all really great. I know there are a bunch of good PSX game besides the Final Fantasies but I havent played too many.

if you are lacking an SNES, find a cheap one or borrow one and play the one.. the ultimate...

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

it's perfect if you're just starting RPG's because it isn't bogged down with hardcore RPG elements, it's just plain fun.

can also be played on

• Gameboy advance
• Wii's virtual console

[QUOTE="despa1r_fact0r"]If you have never played a RPG and you want a simple to learn RPG you should try Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES). zh666

just because Square made a simple RPG doesn't mean it's a good entry level RPG... it sucks and will just turn people off

yeah mysti quest is pretty terrible

If you have never played a RPG and you want a simple to learn RPG you should try Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES). despa1r_fact0r

I dont mean to thread steal but I didn't think it was necessary to make a whole new thread for this question considering it is basically the same, anyway-

I haven't played too many PSX RPGs other than the FFs, what should I play next? How is Vagrant Story? Chrono Cross? Xenogears? Grandia?

Mystic Quest isn't as badas you young kids say. It was cool when it came out. It was just short. People complain that games are all thesame, and when there is a new style they hate it.abephroman

I dont mean to thread steal but I didn't think it was necessary to make a whole new thread for this question considering it is basically the same, anyway-

I haven't played too many PSX RPGs other than the FFs, what should I play next? How is Vagrant Story? Chrono Cross? Xenogears? Grandia?

VVatson

Those are all great RPGs, I'd put some of thoes above FF games. You should definitely play those 4 you metioned. Xenogears, Vagrant Story, Grandia, and Chrono Cross are all superb RPGs.

I dont mean to thread steal but I didn't think it was necessary to make a whole new thread for this question considering it is basically the same, anyway-

I haven't played too many PSX RPGs other than the FFs, what should I play next? How is Vagrant Story? Chrono Cross? Xenogears? Grandia?

VVatson

vagrant story is a great rpg,the game is as great as unique,but because of this the game is really hard to understand(and hard too).

the story of grandia is a little bit too simple(the story is good but too tipical) but everything else is brilliant and the game is long(60 hours)

have't played the other too(I have them but I'm too messed up with disgaea 2 to play them).

a few mentioned kingdom hearts but the second one is a lot better,if you play it directly you will have problems understanding a few thing...but play chain of memories for gba is even more important than play the first one(like why does the games start like this and why are 3 of the "XIII badguys" already dead).

Thanks for the help guys. There are just so many RPGs out there for all the systems that it is hard to decide which ones to play. I spend more time deciding which RPGs to play and learning about them all than actually playing them.

So everyone keep the recommendations coming!

Mystic Quest isn't as badas you young kids say. It was cool when it came out. It was just short. People complain that games are all thesame, and when there is a new style they hate it.abephroman

Pardon while I spin off-topic for a moment....

I was also around for the release of this game...and embarassingly enough (then again, maybe not), I sitll have it.

The story rather lacked, the battle setup was really barebones, the characters had zero personality.

They tried, they just guessed wrong about some gamers on our side of the Pacific. FF I, FF IV (II U.S.), Dragon Quest I - IV, Faxanadu, Ys III, Lagoon.....all were out prior to FFMQ, and all harder to various extents.

However, I give the 'black sheep' of the FF family a few positives in its defense.
- It was a fun break (for me anyhow) from the tougher aspects of RPGs. (Level grinding, random battles, 'timed' battles (that dreaded 'Active Time Battle' setup in FF IV for example), huge caves / castles / etc to navigate, etc)
- There is some element of strategy to battles, despite their simplicity. Especially with spells....which are strictly limited in the number of times one can use them (Not unlike in the first FF game on the NES), so you had to plan accordingly.
- I did like the more vibrant colors and varied areas. Often in some of the games prior to it (and even after it)...some areas have the same look to them, thus I found myself getting lost at times.
- The music (the best part of the game) was no Uematsu symphony, but it was quite good on its own.

Anyways....back on topic.

To the original poster:
I got to give you this. You started with something OTHER than FF VII or X (which seems to be the norm around here). I speak specifically of Xenogears. Someone I went with last year to some anime con kept telling me I have to play it. I have it in my collection, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Shame on me huh?

If you're starting with any FF game, I'm gonig to throw a couple curveballs. Don't go for the titles just based on hype, and go with VIII or IX. VIII had a innovative....if controversial...battle system. IX has that 'old school' feel in terms of presentation, with updated graphics and story, so to speak.

I'll throw another too. Breath of Fire (The 'core' series, I - IV)

Anything NIS or Atlus should prove a different (in a good way) crop of titles....lots of strategy, ie: the aformentioned Disgaea series, lots of 'anime'-like art, and sprites that are a throwback to the 16-bit days, than the usual "Japanese meets Western type RPG" that often dominated the early games in the genre.

Hopefully that'll be enough bones to chew on for a bit.

I dont mean to thread steal but I didn't think it was necessary to make a whole new thread for this question considering it is basically the same, anyway-

I haven't played too many PSX RPGs other than the FFs, what should I play next? How is Vagrant Story? Chrono Cross? Xenogears? Grandia?

VVatson

XENOGEARS! That game is, in my opinion, on par with Final Fantasy VII. The combat's a bit refreshing, playing out almost like a turn-based fighting game. It's quite an interesting system. Even today, I still honestly love the visuals in it as well.

Perhaps I'm stupid, but I always found Chrono Cross to be a bit on the complex side combat-system-wise. I'm not sure why, though. Not a bad game, by any means, but it never deserved the 10 Gamespot gave it, in my opinion.

I've never played Vagrant Story or Grandia, although I do intend on picking up at least Vagrant Story as soon as I find a copy for sale.

Also perhaps try Legend of the Dragoon if you've never played it. I think Gamespot drastically underscored that game.

Anything NIS or Atlus should prove a different (in a good way) crop of titles....lots of strategy, ie: the aformentioned Disgaea series, lots of 'anime'-like art, and sprites that are a throwback to the 16-bit days, than the usual "Japanese meets Western type RPG" that often dominated the early games in the genre.

ChampionOfLight

Perhaps a few Atlus games are beginner-accessible, but for the most part, I think that's crazy. Atlus makes some of the most wacky, out there, complex games I've ever played. Granted I loved some of their games (Nocturne probably being my favorite), but they're typically a bit complex for a total beginner. Also let's not forget the price for most of their more famous RPGs...you're looking to spend at least $70 for most games in the Shin Megami Tensei series (with the exception of Persona 3 FES).

Thanks for the help guys. There are just so many RPGs out there for all the systems that it is hard to decide which ones to play. I spend more time deciding which RPGs to play and learning about them all than actually playing them.

So everyone keep the recommendations coming!

VVatson

the problem I got is that I have bought a lot of rpgs from people that have sold their ps2 to buy a ps3 and a few on second hand shops during a time were I didn't had the time to play them, now I have 15 rpg. if we say that one is 50 hours long ,that make up to 750 hours, playing 8 hours a day this will made 94 days,so I have rpgs for a loooooooooooooong time...without mentioning that this number will grow after I found a few more for a good price

If you have a gamecube you should try baten kaitos, the game is long and has a really original battle system based on cards,but don't think this anything to to with "other card games" because this game is a real rpg but in battle you don't have comands like atack or heal, you have a deck with cards that have this effects, every character has his own deck and his own "weapon cards"(the main character is the only one who can use sword cards,etc)