Classic WRPGs

Looking to educate myself on some RPG history. Mostly a JRPG gamer.

Did some research and these 3 are some of the most critically praised.

Fallout 2

Baldur's Gate 2

Planescape: Torment

Which one is best guys? Story / gameplay impressions are welcome. :)

You forgot Arcanum

@MonsieurX: yeah more suggestions are welcome.

All of them more than deserve the 'classic' label but my personal favourite would have to be Planescape: Torment. I'm really hoping that Torment: Tides of Numenera can live up to it's namesake, it has big shoes to fill.

Absolutely loved Fallout 2 as well, wasn't as much of a fan of Baldur's Gate though, was never a massive D&D fan either though.

It's a really tough call on those 3, Baldur's gate is my personal favorite but I can totally see why one would pick either Placescape or Fallout over it.

Planescape Torment is the most story driven/dialog heavy out of the 3, followed by BG2

Fallout 2 rides more on the post apocalyptic world setting which is well captured

Torment+BG are fantasy setting while Fallout clearly is sci-fi

While all 3 games are turn based on combat in essnce, both BG and Torment are tied to d&d rules and the its real time(pausable) with turns built in it, fallout 2 combat is "truly" turn based with action point system

Baldur's Gate 2 has the best balance... and gameplay.

Fallout 2 has the best quests, I guess. I dunno, I found it to pale compared to FO1.

PS:T has arguably the best story in gaming outside of the adventure genre.

Play the BG series not just 2.

More suggestions.

How about,

• Wizardry 1: This game heavily inspired early jRPGs alongside Ultima. But unlike Ultima, Wizardry didnt age like crap. The Dark Savant Saga is where the series is in its prime, but those didnt inspire jRPGs.
• Ultima 7: Can be a bit hard to get into at first. The game doesnt shine until a few moments in. But this game is what heavily inspired Todd Howard (the guy that made Skyrim), and his favorite game of all time. This game I feel has not only been important to the wRPG genre, but gaming as a whole, as it laid quite a bit of groundwork on how to design these modern open world games.
• Ultima Underworld: A 3D gaming revolution. This game set the framework for how FPP 3D games would play for years to come.
• Betrayal at Krondor: A game that seemingly got everything done right. The stories is one of the better in gaming, the combat uses the right ammount of unpredictability and unpredictability in the right places to make it one of the best combat systems for an RPG. The Open World was very well thought out which made it a treat to explore.
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines: If you ever wanted to play as a vampire, this is the game to get.

You might be in for a shock since lots of the classic WRPGs are a bit clunky, and archaic in design. Some feel unplayable unless you want to invest time into them. Not like today's pick-up-and-play era. With that said, if you dislike one, don't write off all WRPGs. Some of them are really good.

I'll recommend some that nobody else is mentioning. Deus Ex, Divine Divinity, Lands of Lore, and Dungeon Siege.

There is kind of a resurgence of modern-day "old school" RPGs worth trying out too like Underrail, Shadowrun, Legend of Grimrock, and Divinity Original Sin.

Ehh... how about no.

Baldur's Gate 1 was all kinds of crap. Unless one's idea of a good game is repetitive encounters with bandits and wolves for hours upon hours, empty open world that are a chore to traverse, heavily underdeveloped characters and plot, uneven pacing, filler fights. It got some things right, it was a beautiful game and still is. The low level nature of it served it well, where players would be able to stick with equipment for a long while, whereas most modern RPGs have players switch out gear faster than a nervous salaryman chooses what clothes to wear for the job interview. But overall, there is actually very little to like about BG1, it was just an overall uninspired journey.

Thanks for the feedback guys. One request though. Games on Steam or GOG are what I am looking for. Easy to purchase. :)

Except you might be a bit lost story wise ...

I've said this before, but BG2 is a quintessential WRPG experience. It isn't necessarily the best in a few areas, but it does everything incredibly well. Deep RPG elements and combat, great characters with long interesting questlines and/or romance archs, great story, great art and sound design, and an absolute mountain of side content that is all meaningful and interesting.

Check out the Icewind Dale series.

Some newer games that take on the Classic RPG style are Wasteland 2, Divinity: Original Sin, Pillars of Eternity, and the Shadowrun games. Check those out too!

You can't go wrong with ether Fallout 2 or Planescape, the only "bad" thing about Fallout 2 is most likely you need a fan made patch to run it.

When it comes to old games, I've had much better luck with GOG since they take the time to actually port games to modern Windows operating systems (not that they can't still have some issues). They also have the biggest selection, the games come with many extras such as digital manuals (which might be necessary for some of the old games), soundtracks, artbooks, and more.

Just make sure to read a couple of the user reviews on any game you're interested in to see if anyone is talking about issues.

BG1+2 with mods to make them connect as one game as well as updating BG1 with the BG2 engine. Excellent gaming experience. Planescape:Torment I'd amazing as well. Fallout 2 was phenominal. I'd say play them all. I'd start with Fallout 2 then go to BG1+2 then I'd play Plane cape Torment which is my favorite of the bunch. Arcanum is also worth checking out. A lot of reading, but great game. You may also be interested in Divine Divinity, it's a great rpg.

Baldur's Gate 2 got the balance right between gameplay and story. Haven't played second Fallout game (plan to pick up it in near future). Planescape: Torment is probably most well written video game ever made, rivaled only by traditional adventure games.

Combat system is serviceable at best but story will keep you going. Overall package is mostly considered as the best story driven cRPG ever made. Baldur's Gate 2 is up there too.

If you want to experience modern execution of old school cRPGs then look no further than, Divinity: Original Sin. Pick up Enhanced Edition.

Get GOG version. It's DRM free, and games are optimized to run well on modern systems. The files are also easier to edit and fix, if you run into some rare problem.

For WRPG lite, I like Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption

Everyone seems to be in agreement that Planescape: Torment has a great story.

Think I will try in first cause that's what I look for in a RPG. $10 bucks on GOG.

May not have time to play it right away. :)

Hmm. I will throw in my thoughts.

PlaneScape Torment is likely the WRPG held in highest regard, I am not sure I would pick that as a first go, it is far the harshest of the games, you mentioned, and it is the slowest. Often a case of loads of dialogue, and more focused on philosophy, and ideals.

You Mention Fallout 2, which Might be a good one, but to be honest I would go with FO1 first, they are a year apart, and FO1 is a bit smaller, more contained, with the better story of the two. It can be clunky, and it can be slightly hard to figure out when when you get going, it goes like an avalanche. Then you should get FO2 if you liked what the first one had.

BG2 is likely the easiest to recommend, But I have some serious issues with the game (lack of feeling of place, you simply jump from hotspot to hotspot, leaving out much of the exploration from BG1, as well as needing you to understand the story of BG1 to understand, or even care). I would suggest BG1 in all honesty, It is also the shorter game, with an overall better plot progression. But it IS worth playing, I am just unsure how much you will get out of it on its own.

Someone mentioned Arcanum, this is a very good choice, and setting. It is charming and relatively relaxing compared to the rest, it reminds me of Fallout in how it just throws you into the world, so you as the player, learns with the character. Not surprising since they was made by some of the same people.

Depending on how much you can stand ancient gameplay, Might and Magic 7 might be a good pick too (The reason I say 7 and not 6, is that 7 has an actual story, 6 is more of a rpg system simulator :S).

Another idea might be Divine Divinity, it was made almost as a joke on the other RPGs of the time, but still managed to be a pretty darn good game aswell.

TL;DR Start with Fo1 or BG1, and follow through with the sequels, or pick Arcanum, or Divine divinity as an alternative.

I understand that people will claim FO2 or BG2, but I am not sure they would be good starting points, and stay away from PST unless you care for a whole lot of reading, it is a great game, but NOT the best starting point for WRPGs

For classic ones Neverwinter Nights is my favorite, but Planescape Torment and Baldur's Gate 2 are phenomenal.

For newer games in the style Divinity Original Sin and Pillars of Eternity are excellent. Wasteland 2 is overall pretty good as well

@meathead373: I am always looking out for Steam sales. Divinity Original Sin is half off for $20.

Can anyone else vouch for this game? Just curious. :)

Please give the entire Baldur's Gate saga your utmost time and attention. It's dated in ways, but absolutely one of the best gaming experiences you can have if you work with it.

If you accept it's foibles (babystitting the pathfinding, dying from a single hit as a mage, etc), you will have a challenging, rewarding and satisfying RPG quest of about 150 hours (all games + expansions) in a really wonderful world.

Fallout and Planescape are great games too but not qutie as God tier as Baldurs' Gate imo. Even just typing this, I'm itching to play the series again, which is always a good sign!

@vespuche: the combat is some of the best ever!

I didn't personally like Neverwinter Nights too much, being tied to controlling just one character + the story/world was quite meh(hordes of underdark was better tho)

nwn 2 was a lot better(tho it was a technical mess) and the expansion Mask of the Betrayer(made by Obsidian) is up there with the very best