What are some of the best RPGs for non-RPG fans?

Could someone recommend some RPGs that even a non-RPG fan would like. I'm not an RPG fan, but I loved Final Fantasy 7, for example. What are some RPGs that would have that effect? RPGs that someone would like even if they particuarly didn't like the genre? I'm a PS2 and Xbox owner, so please take that into consideration.

I think you'd love Dark Cloud 1-2 and Rogue Galaxy on the PS2.

If you could tell me what specifically about RPGs that turns you off I can give you any number of things.

Lemme try listing some and why I think you may or may not like them

Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) - It's like a mish mash of first person shooting and strategy RPG elements. You have troops, move them around like on a First Person Shooter map, then take aim where you ahve all the time in the world to aim and shoot. By earning EXP at the end you can train the troops later on and buy new gear. It's not grind heavy (by grind I mean repetetive fighting of the same monsters over and over).

Mass Effect (Xbox360)- Like Valkyria Chronicles this is as much a First Person shooter as it is an RPG. In fact the game doesn't pause unless you call up a menu to use a special attack or technique. Ever played Knights of the Old Republic? If you have then this is pretty similar. A very excellent story about saving the universe and it casts an interesting light on the potential future of the human race a long time from now.

EarthBound (SNES) - This is an old shool masterpiece from the SNES days. It involves traditional RPG elements like fighting lots of enemies and leveling up and such. But the combat is interesting due to if you get hit really hard if you act fast enough you can restore your life before your character falls. Also, it was one of the first games to have enemies appear on the map so you could avoid them or not if you desired, so you should always be able to heal or be ready for the next in most cases. The story and characters (there's a talking pile of puke which is one of the bosses, and one of the foods you can eat is trout yogurt, and fart jokes run rampant in the game) are unlike anything you've ever played.

If you like Final Fantasy 7, I'd recommend Chrono Trigger (SNES) as well, but it would take me a year to describe how awesome this game is. Another one that might sound strange is Paper Mario and Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. Those are simple RPGs but have incredible depth to the combat and to be honest, are my favorite Mario based games of all, more so than any of his platforming fare (you actually do get to control Mario and his jumping skills on the overworld though if you like that).

I guess you will like other JRPGs as well then. You could try Lost Odyssey, although thats out on the 360...uas-2001

What's a JRPG?

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Zelda games yet. Anyways, the RPGs I have for PS2 and Xbox:

Final Fantasy 10 -- Disappointed because I thought it would be the Final Fantasy 7 of the PS2 (it wasn't). I'm giving it another shot, but I realized that no matter what, I will always consider FF 7 to be my favorite. I guess I like this game so much because it was the first RPG I ever played, and now every RPG I played after that I would compare to FF7. FF7 set my standard.

Dragon Quest VIII -- My friend let me borrow this, I tried it for a few hours, but stopped playing it. It's not that I didn't like it. I just didn't have time. I want to try it out again. Would I like this game?

Star Wars -- KOTOR -- Haven't gotten around to playing it yet.

As for what I don't like about RPGs, I can't really put my finger on. It's not that I don't like RPGs. It's just that I'm not a fan of the genre. I guess it would be like someone who's not a racing fan, but likes Burnout 3. I generally don't have a favorite genre. If the game is a good game overall (not just for a particular genre) then I'll play it. Another anaology would be the Lord of the Rings movies and Star Wars. I don't really care for Fantasy and Sci Fi movies, but I loved those movies.

Better yet, let me ask a similar question. What RPGs would even someone who HATES RPGs like.

Thanks for all your help.

[QUOTE="uas-2001"]I guess you will like other JRPGs as well then. You could try Lost Odyssey, although thats out on the 360...psx2514

What's a JRPG?

I mean what is the definition of a JRPG. What does it stand for?

[QUOTE="psx2514"]

[QUOTE="uas-2001"]I guess you will like other JRPGs as well then. You could try Lost Odyssey, although thats out on the 360...psx2514

What's a JRPG?

I mean what is the definition of a JRPG. What does it stand for?

Nevermind

If you could tell me what specifically about RPGs that turns you off I can give you any number of things.

Lemme try listing some and why I think you may or may not like them

Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) - It's like a mish mash of first person shooting and strategy RPG elements. You have troops, move them around like on a First Person Shooter map, then take aim where you ahve all the time in the world to aim and shoot. By earning EXP at the end you can train the troops later on and buy new gear. It's not grind heavy (by grind I mean repetetive fighting of the same monsters over and over).

Mass Effect (Xbox360)- Like Valkyria Chronicles this is as much a First Person shooter as it is an RPG. In fact the game doesn't pause unless you call up a menu to use a special attack or technique. Ever played Knights of the Old Republic? If you have then this is pretty similar. A very excellent story about saving the universe and it casts an interesting light on the potential future of the human race a long time from now.

EarthBound (SNES) - This is an old shool masterpiece from the SNES days. It involves traditional RPG elements like fighting lots of enemies and leveling up and such. But the combat is interesting due to if you get hit really hard if you act fast enough you can restore your life before your character falls. Also, it was one of the first games to have enemies appear on the map so you could avoid them or not if you desired, so you should always be able to heal or be ready for the next in most cases. The story and characters (there's a talking pile of puke which is one of the bosses, and one of the foods you can eat is trout yogurt, and fart jokes run rampant in the game) are unlike anything you've ever played.

If you like Final Fantasy 7, I'd recommend Chrono Trigger (SNES) as well, but it would take me a year to describe how awesome this game is. Another one that might sound strange is Paper Mario and Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. Those are simple RPGs but have incredible depth to the combat and to be honest, are my favorite Mario based games of all, more so than any of his platforming fare (you actually do get to control Mario and his jumping skills on the overworld though if you like that).

SemiMaster

What about Chrono Cross? I'm specifically looking for games on the PS2 and Xbox though.

Hmmm...You might like something like the "Tales of" series or Star Ocean series. Both series are action-based and not turn-based.

Mass Effect

After falling out with them, Elder Scrolls:Oblivion got me playing them again, now RPG's are pretty much all i play :P

The sims 3it has some role playing elements. OK no violence but there certainly is conflict your characters do develop also you don't need to take them to the tiolet as often.

If you like time travel (AKA back to the future) Get chrono trigger for the DS,PS1 or the SNES

First of all, why wouldn't I like turn based RPGs? Final Fantasy VII was a turn based RPG, and I loved that game. Also, could someone explain the difference to me between an action based RPG and a turn based RPG. I kind of understand the difference, but not completely.

Also, would anyone recommend Dragon Quest VIII to me?

Bump

You'll probably enjoy FFX is you liked FFVII.

Action rpg's give you direct control over the combat. Block button, Lock-on button, attack buttons, special item buttons. Turn based rpg's are where you just click through menu's and watch the combat, more and more people are getting sick of these because they are so disengaging, you dont have to think about anything to play them and it makes your eyes glaze over, I mean they even let you set it to memorize which menu options you choose for each character.. Tactical RPG's use grids(or some other method) for moving around a map where placement of your troops is also an important factor but combat is still menu-driven. These are better than straight turn based because you get to activate your brain and think about where to move stuff

People are steering you away from turn based because the #1 reason people dont like RPG's or stay away from them is because of turn -based rpg's and how boring the combat is for newbies. So we all assumed if you are a non-rpg'ers its because of the controls. You probably should have said you are just a newb and looking for good rpg's. At which point everyone will eventially suggest every single rpg made because we all have different tastes. You just have to figure them out for yourself. Instead of asking what are the best. Ask what is the most popular. Then you will get rid of the loons who give stupid answers lol. _AbBaNdOn

I don't really have a problem with the battle system in turn based RPGs. Actually, turn based RPGs are the only kind of RPGs I've played. To be honest, the only RPGs I actually put time into were Final Fantasy VII, IX, and X. I don't really remember IX, so I won't talk about that. The thing I didn't like about FF 10 in contrast to VII was how you leveled up. I liked how in FF 7 you automatically leveled up with the more experience points you got. I don't like the sphere grid thing in FF 10. I just found that to be tedious. Basically, the more time I spend actually playing the game, and the less time I have to spend tweaking things the better. That's what I liked about FF 7. To me it used seemed more user friendly.

As for asking what is the best RPG, I'm not asking what is the best RPG. I'm just asking if you were to say to me, "I know you're not really into RPGs, but you'll like this one regardless." which one would it me?

Oh, another thing about RPGs I don't really like is how the side/optional quests really aren't optional. I mean, doing side quests shouldn't give you an advantage in the main game and not doing them should shouldn't give you a disadvantage. They should be purely optional.

I don't know if this is related, but I don't like the fact that you have to play for 20 additional hours just to level up enough so you can beat the final boss. That just slows the game down. With all the random battles you encounter on your quest, you should have enough experience to beat the final boss without having to pick fights for 20 hours prior.

Only a handful of RPG's are non-grind friendly. Mass Effect, Kotor, Final Fantasy 8................ grinding goes hand in hand with leveling(ie getting more powerful) which is 50% of what rpg's were about. 50% story and 50% leveling up._AbBaNdOn

What's grinding?

Dark Cloud 2, Dragon Quest VIII, FFXchadwick1343

The biggest thing that turns me off about Dragon Quest VIII is that I heard it takes WAY TOO LONG even for an RPG. One review said that what you see at the 30-40 hour mark is essentially the same as what you saw at the 10 hour mark (extrememly slow story progression).

Also, how come no one has mentioned the Zelda games? Are those not RPGs?

fallout 3

kingdom hearts

oblivion

pretty much anything thats not turnbased. usually people who don't like rpgs are those who play shooters. so jumping straight in to a turn based game would be a huge turn off.

Grinding is where you have to level up to take on bosses like you said. You have to sit there and grind through killing tons of random battles. Random Battles arent there to slow you down. They are there to make you more powerful and give yo uthe money and items it takes to go further. How much you have to grind is a personal choice. Some people like to try and go through a game with the weakest team possable as a challenge. I like to dominate fights so I have to do craploads of grinding lol.

Zelda is action based and a great rpg. Nobody is mentioning it BECAUSE YOU SAID PS2 AND XBOX!!!!!! Of which zelda is on neither. _AbBaNdOn

First of all, don't yell at me! People were mentioning games for the SNES (Chrono Trigger for example). And I know Zelda isn't on XBOX or PS2. I said I wasn't really into RPGS. I didn't say that I wasn't into video games!

Now, about "grinding." I understand random battles. I just don't think you should have to run around and look for them on purpose. The ones you encounter on your quest should be enough to level you up for the final boss (given you don't "run away") from them.

Try Fable 2.:)

Actually if you like FFVII........play Final Fantasy VI, its the best game of the series and FFIV and V are great too. Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana) and 3 are great too.texasgoldrush

Which Final Fantasy VI are you talking about? The American one which is really Final Fantasy 3 or the actual Final Fantasy 6?

Im with you on not necessarily being a fan of RPGs. Ive played a couple that Ive really loved, and to be honest, after each one, I have to sit out for awhile. Many, many moons ago I played FF legend II for gameboy, loved it, and was bored with any RPG (especially FFs) for awhile....Two years ago, I played FFX and it blew me away. I tried playing other RPS after, but had to wait a year before I got into KOTOR, and now I am getting into FFVII for the first time (though Ive owned and tried to play it, FFVIII, and FFIX among other RPS many times during that period).....

For me, these games take so much time and devotion, that it seems whe I find one I do love, I inevitably dont like the next one I play, unless I give it some time in between.

I would really give it awhile then try FFX again, it really is incredible. So is KOTOR (Knights of the Old Republic), and that may be more easily digestible after a FF game, as the gameplay is definitley different.

By the way, if you have a pc (and it seems you might), download an emulator and you can play Crono Trigger on it (easier with a $15 usb controller). Thats what I do for NES/SNES games, and everyone else is absolutely right: Chrono Trigger is absolutely amazing. Any questions on how, message me.....

Crono Cross is good as well, and you can play it on the ps2 (its a ps1 game!!)

Cheers, and happy hunting...from one fair weather RPG-er to another!

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"]Actually if you like FFVII........play Final Fantasy VI, its the best game of the series and FFIV and V are great too. Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana) and 3 are great too.psx2514

Which Final Fantasy VI are you talking about? The American one which is really Final Fantasy 3 or the actual Final Fantasy 6?