Which current gen rpg do you think has the best story?

The Witcher. The reason ME2 was so compelling is not because of the main story, but the side stories of the characters, coupled with excellent dialogue s and overall great storytelling.funsohng

I wouldn't even say the side stories.. I'd say more it's the characters' personalities rather than their backgrounds and the main story. Alot of them have fairly generic backstories if you ask me.

[QUOTE="jasonharris48"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] As much as I am a fan of the ME titles, I really do think DAII has them beat in the story department.texasgoldrush

[QUOTE="ULTIMATEZWARRIO"]^ummm...Unless you've been in a box and haven't played a single JRPG for the last like 30 years, then I can see FFXIII's story being good, but it was pretty cliche, predictive, uninspired. blahsalt48

[QUOTE="blahsalt48"][QUOTE="ULTIMATEZWARRIO"]^ummm...Unless you've been in a box and haven't played a single JRPG for the last like 30 years, then I can see FFXIII's story being good, but it was pretty cliche, predictive, uninspired. texasgoldrush

The irony here is that you go ahead and praise bioware stories.....

[QUOTE="SaudiFury"]

Bioware and Bethseda's are the best RPG story makers this generation in my opinion.

Even if you don't think ME2, or DA2 is an RPG, or Bethesda's games are overstated.

I still think those two developers make the best in the industry, and we'd be in a world of hurt (more like boredom) if they were not around.

Can't speak for Witcher as i've never played it.

SAGE_OF_FIRE

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="blahsalt48"] Wow, what version were you playing? It has one of the most origional stories I have played through in a long time. Maby one or to specific things that happened were predictable, but the over all story and charactor progression was very deep and interesting, not predictive. And even though they start of fairly cliche it was done on purpose. They grow as a people and get more complex as the story progresses.Espada12

The irony here is that you go ahead and praise bioware stories.....

Does Kingdom Hearts 2 count since it came out after Elder Scrolls Oblivion?

If so I say that. :)

[QUOTE="SAGE_OF_FIRE"][QUOTE="SaudiFury"]

Bioware and Bethseda's are the best RPG story makers this generation in my opinion.

Even if you don't think ME2, or DA2 is an RPG, or Bethesda's games are overstated.

I still think those two developers make the best in the industry, and we'd be in a world of hurt (more like boredom) if they were not around.

Can't speak for Witcher as i've never played it.

SaudiFury

Well, Bioware is obviously hugely influencial when it comes to RPG's, but they have honestly been going downhill pretty much since Baulder's gate 2.

Not to mention, that a lot of their games are very recycled in terms of story and characters.

[QUOTE="SAGE_OF_FIRE"][QUOTE="SaudiFury"]

Bioware and Bethseda's are the best RPG story makers this generation in my opinion.

Even if you don't think ME2, or DA2 is an RPG, or Bethesda's games are overstated.

I still think those two developers make the best in the industry, and we'd be in a world of hurt (more like boredom) if they were not around.

Can't speak for Witcher as i've never played it.

SaudiFury

Well, Bioware is obviously hugely influencial when it comes to RPG's, but they have honestly been going downhill pretty much since Baulder's gate 2.

Not to mention, that a lot of their games are very recycled in terms of story and characters.

RPG? Witcher

Gray Matter has the best overall story this gen though.

[QUOTE="SaudiFury"][QUOTE="SAGE_OF_FIRE"] Sarcasm? cobrax55

Well, Bioware is obviously hugely influencial when it comes to RPG's, but they have honestly been going downhill pretty much since Baulder's gate 2.

Not to mention, that a lot of their games are very recycled in terms of story and characters.

The constant reuse of dungeons, severe lack of dialog, and over-simplified inventory system are the three things to note that personally annoyed me.

I just really hope Mass Effect 3 is what i read the interviews, re-RPGing and building up off of ME2.

[QUOTE="Espada12"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] ooohhh nihilistic bad guy and a big evil god want to destroy world, nothing original about it.texasgoldrush

The irony here is that you go ahead and praise bioware stories.....

What's your point? You still praise DA and ME 1 + 2 when they have the same faults as FFXIII.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush] ooohhh nihilistic bad guy and a big evil god want to destroy world, nothing original about it.blahsalt48

[QUOTE="cobrax55"]

[QUOTE="SaudiFury"] no i honesty have not played Witcher - so I honestly cannot comment on it one way or the other.. and i honestly think that despite problems, we'd be worse off without those two had they never existed. SaudiFury

Well, Bioware is obviously hugely influencial when it comes to RPG's, but they have honestly been going downhill pretty much since Baulder's gate 2.

Not to mention, that a lot of their games are very recycled in terms of story and characters.

The constant reuse of dungeons, severe lack of dialog, and over-simplified inventory system are the three things to note that personally annoyed me.

I just really hope Mass Effect 3 is what i read the interviews, re-RPGing and building up off of ME2.

The problem is that its always been pretty much the same story and same set of companions. Not to mention that Bioware is rather bad at doing choices, always has been. Its always very black and white with little impact on the actual game. Their Diologue isnt bad, but I would say average. Theirs certainly a lot of RPG's with worse writing, but their are also ones which are a lot better (Fallout 2, Planetscape...etc). They have high production values and nothing about their games is neccesarily bad, but nothing really stands out much either.

This is rather old, but it illustrates what im talking about pretty well:

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="Espada12"]

The irony here is that you go ahead and praise bioware stories.....

What's your point? You still praise DA and ME 1 + 2 when they have the same faults as FFXIII.

[QUOTE="SaudiFury"]

[QUOTE="cobrax55"]

Well, Bioware is obviously hugely influencial when it comes to RPG's, but they have honestly been going downhill pretty much since Baulder's gate 2.

Not to mention, that a lot of their games are very recycled in terms of story and characters.

cobrax55

The constant reuse of dungeons, severe lack of dialog, and over-simplified inventory system are the three things to note that personally annoyed me.

I just really hope Mass Effect 3 is what i read the interviews, re-RPGing and building up off of ME2.

The problem is that its always been pretty much the same story and same set of companions. Not to mention that Bioware is rather bad at doing choices, always has been. Its always very black and white with little impact on the actual game. Their Diologue isnt bad, but I would say average. Theirs certainly a lot of RPG's with worse writing, but their are also ones which are a lot better (Fallout 2, Planetscape...etc). They have high production values and nothing about their games is neccesarily bad, but nothing really stands out much either.

This is rather old, but it illustrates what im talking about pretty well:

Everyone is entitled to their opinon. and i have seen that funny chart before. I partially agree with it. I still find the games fascinating, despite their varying levels of cliche.

But if i had a nickle for every cliche i've ever seen in a game, movie, or watching friends play DnD game. I could literally buy the internets and rule the world!!!!

anyways i'm good, i answered the guys thread, and i tried to give my reasons for it as well.

[QUOTE="SaudiFury"]

[QUOTE="cobrax55"]

Well, Bioware is obviously hugely influencial when it comes to RPG's, but they have honestly been going downhill pretty much since Baulder's gate 2.

Not to mention, that a lot of their games are very recycled in terms of story and characters.

The constant reuse of dungeons, severe lack of dialog, and over-simplified inventory system are the three things to note that personally annoyed me.

I just really hope Mass Effect 3 is what i read the interviews, re-RPGing and building up off of ME2.

The problem is that its always been pretty much the same story and same set of companions. Not to mention that Bioware is rather bad at doing choices, always has been. Its always very black and white with little impact on the actual game. Their Diologue isnt bad, but I would say average. Theirs certainly a lot of RPG's with worse writing, but their are also ones which are a lot better (Fallout 2, Planetscape...etc). They have high production values and nothing about their games is neccesarily bad, but nothing really stands out much either.

This is rather old, but it illustrates what im talking about pretty well:

^ At least if you are going to complain about something make valid points. I loved DA, my second favorite game ever. But it has its faults. Ciche charactors, awkward relation ships and black and white morality choices. FF XIII is my second favorite FF. But it has its flaws to. Combat is irritateing and the difficulty jumps around like a kangaroo on crack. Those are valid complaints, not random things you just heared about other games.blahsalt48

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="blahsalt48"]^ At least if you are going to complain about something make valid points. I loved DA, my second favorite game ever. But it has its faults. Ciche charactors, awkward relation ships and black and white morality choices. FF XIII is my second favorite FF. But it has its flaws to. Combat is irritateing and the difficulty jumps around like a kangaroo on crack. Those are valid complaints, not random things you just heared about other games.blahsalt48

Besides, we are talking about NEXT GEN RPGs. FFVI is not next gen. And I have never played it, so I wouldn`t know. In fact I don`t play many JRPGs at all. Just FFVII-XIII (excludeing XI) and Demon`s Souls (and it was trying to be a WRPG).blahsalt48

Mass Effect (hopefully ME3 doesn't screw it up).

I vote Super Paper Mario.

Amazingly bad with atrocious dialogue and annoying character tendencies. (The diolog was slow at parts just like every other game. Biowares games arn`t full of non stop action and intrigue either. But for the most part the dialogue is deep and moveing.) Snow, Hope, and Vanille deserve a special place in hell. And Hope is amazingly stupid, trying to kill Snow when clearly the bad guys killed his mom. (Hope was cofused and lashing out, Snow was there so he became his target) Lightning can never be compared to other female protagonists such as Terra and Celes, or even Yuna in terms of quality. (Yuna is the only one of your examples I know and she is so two dimentional. At least Lightning develops beyond the first five minuits you meet her.) The story is all over the place and very poorly written, typical Toriyama. (It comes together about half way through you either forgot or are just ignoring the entire second half of the story.) They clearly do not have the skill or talent ot handle a story of that scope without resorting to cliches. (What cliches are you talking about? As I have said before, they were created that way origionaly, but then they break free of the stereotypes to show charactor development.) So you have no real reason, you just don`t like it. As I said before, it is by no means perfect. There are flaws, and major ones. But you have only hit upon one. If you are going to dislike a game and try to convince others of your view use actual reasons. I could say Bioware games are boaring with terrible writting and under developed charactors (this isn`t my opinion, I am makeing a point). But I would be wrong. Just like all the points you are trying to make just arn`t hitting the mark.blahsalt48

I vote Super Paper Mario.

AntiType

I was surprised by Super Paper Mario's story as well. Surprisingly deep, just like The Thousand Year Door (my fave!).

I think I'm going to have to give the nod to Lost Odyssey because of dream sequences. Really emotional stuff.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="blahsalt48"]Besides, we are talking about NEXT GEN RPGs. FFVI is not next gen. And I have never played it, so I wouldn`t know. In fact I don`t play many JRPGs at all. Just FFVII-XIII (excludeing XI) and Demon`s Souls (and it was trying to be a WRPG).blahsalt48

[QUOTE="blahsalt48"]Amazingly bad with atrocious dialogue and annoying character tendencies. (The diolog was slow at parts just like every other game. Biowares games arn`t full of non stop action and intrigue either. But for the most part the dialogue is deep and moveing.) Snow, Hope, and Vanille deserve a special place in hell. And Hope is amazingly stupid, trying to kill Snow when clearly the bad guys killed his mom. (Hope was cofused and lashing out, Snow was there so he became his target) Lightning can never be compared to other female protagonists such as Terra and Celes, or even Yuna in terms of quality. (Yuna is the only one of your examples I know and she is so two dimentional. At least Lightning develops beyond the first five minuits you meet her.) The story is all over the place and very poorly written, typical Toriyama. (It comes together about half way through you either forgot or are just ignoring the entire second half of the story.) They clearly do not have the skill or talent ot handle a story of that scope without resorting to cliches. (What cliches are you talking about? As I have said before, they were created that way origionaly, but then they break free of the stereotypes to show charactor development.) So you have no real reason, you just don`t like it. As I said before, it is by no means perfect. There are flaws, and major ones. But you have only hit upon one. If you are going to dislike a game and try to convince others of your view use actual reasons. I could say Bioware games are boaring with terrible writting and under developed charactors (this isn`t my opinion, I am makeing a point). But I would be wrong. Just like all the points you are trying to make just arn`t hitting the mark.texasgoldrush

Personally, I think FF13 might be my fave JRPG this gen. I liked the story, the linearity makes sense because of the design and story, and the control in the battle is centered more around the bigger picture rather than the minute details.

Like if you notice Lost Odyssey, I don't know if you've played that one or not, but you'll select every minor attack and watch it play out with the team you've assembled. In FF13, you change roles on the fly based on the pace of the current battle, constantly controlling the flow of combat. I found it really refreshing and unique.

[QUOTE="AntiType"]

I vote Super Paper Mario.

I was surprised by Super Paper Mario's story as well. Surprisingly deep, just like The Thousand Year Door (my fave!).

I think I'm going to have to give the nod to Lost Odyssey because of dream sequences. Really emotional stuff.

[QUOTE="NeonNinja"]

[QUOTE="AntiType"]

I vote Super Paper Mario.

texasgoldrush

I was surprised by Super Paper Mario's story as well. Surprisingly deep, just like The Thousand Year Door (my fave!).

I think I'm going to have to give the nod to Lost Odyssey because of dream sequences. Really emotional stuff.

Oh yeah. The villain is far from memorable and the beginning goes on for like four or five hours before the game gets really good. So yeah, it isn't the best representation of the genre, but I want to say that for this gen so far it has my favorite story. The existential themes were just really well done. Other games like Tales of Vesperia, Final Fantasy XIII, Eternal Sonata, Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins (I'm not going to count Fable II or Oblivion since they have bad stories) were all a little more on the light-hearted side or stuck to genre conventions for the story, whereas Lost Odyssey tried something new. The writing is spectacular through and through and despite having a weak villain, the ending was really satisfying regardless.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="blahsalt48"]Amazingly bad with atrocious dialogue and annoying character tendencies. (The diolog was slow at parts just like every other game. Biowares games arn`t full of non stop action and intrigue either. But for the most part the dialogue is deep and moveing.) Snow, Hope, and Vanille deserve a special place in hell. And Hope is amazingly stupid, trying to kill Snow when clearly the bad guys killed his mom. (Hope was cofused and lashing out, Snow was there so he became his target) Lightning can never be compared to other female protagonists such as Terra and Celes, or even Yuna in terms of quality. (Yuna is the only one of your examples I know and she is so two dimentional. At least Lightning develops beyond the first five minuits you meet her.) The story is all over the place and very poorly written, typical Toriyama. (It comes together about half way through you either forgot or are just ignoring the entire second half of the story.) They clearly do not have the skill or talent ot handle a story of that scope without resorting to cliches. (What cliches are you talking about? As I have said before, they were created that way origionaly, but then they break free of the stereotypes to show charactor development.) So you have no real reason, you just don`t like it. As I said before, it is by no means perfect. There are flaws, and major ones. But you have only hit upon one. If you are going to dislike a game and try to convince others of your view use actual reasons. I could say Bioware games are boaring with terrible writting and under developed charactors (this isn`t my opinion, I am makeing a point). But I would be wrong. Just like all the points you are trying to make just arn`t hitting the mark.NeonNinja

Personally, I think FF13 might be my fave JRPG this gen. I liked the story, the linearity makes sense because of the design and story, and the control in the battle is centered more around the bigger picture rather than the minute details.

Like if you notice Lost Odyssey, I don't know if you've played that one or not, but you'll select every minor attack and watch it play out with the team you've assembled. In FF13, you change roles on the fly based on the pace of the current battle, constantly controlling the flow of combat. I found it really refreshing and unique.

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"][QUOTE="NeonNinja"]

I was surprised by Super Paper Mario's story as well. Surprisingly deep, just like The Thousand Year Door (my fave!).

I think I'm going to have to give the nod to Lost Odyssey because of dream sequences. Really emotional stuff.

Oh yeah. The villain is far from memorable and the beginning goes on for like four or five hours before the game gets really good. So yeah, it isn't the best representation of the genre, but I want to say that for this gen so far it has my favorite story. The existential themes were just really well done. Other games like Tales of Vesperia, Final Fantasy XIII, Eternal Sonata, Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins (I'm not going to count Fable II or Oblivion since they have bad stories) were all a little more on the light-hearted side or stuck to genre conventions for the story, whereas Lost Odyssey tried something new. The writing is spectacular through and through and despite having a weak villain, the ending was really satisfying regardless.

I have to say it's a toss up for me, it's ether Mass Effect or The Witcher. Although The Witcher is based off of a novel/short stories from a polish writer in the 1980's/1990's.

I like to think that Ultimecia is actualy Rinoa, It realy puts some life into the end villain. It also explains alot. There is alot of complicated quantum time theory stuff and alot of theories about this topic. Try googleing it if you are interested. I only played a little bit of IX so far, but I have liked what I have played. I have only played one tactics game (War of the Lions of something) for the PSP and didn`t realy like the controls. And yes, XII was a disapoinntment.blahsalt48

[QUOTE="NeonNinja"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] the story is the breaker for me, but the game is too linear, you had very little control in battle, Pulse was a letdown, the leveling system was bad, there is no interactivity to the game...etc. Many problems.texasgoldrush

Personally, I think FF13 might be my fave JRPG this gen. I liked the story, the linearity makes sense because of the design and story, and the control in the battle is centered more around the bigger picture rather than the minute details.

Like if you notice Lost Odyssey, I don't know if you've played that one or not, but you'll select every minor attack and watch it play out with the team you've assembled. In FF13, you change roles on the fly based on the pace of the current battle, constantly controlling the flow of combat. I found it really refreshing and unique.

Actually you can control your party members if you choose to. It's kind of counter-productive though, but the option exists.

To each their own though. I like the game a ton, but I can see why some wouldn't like it.

[QUOTE="NeonNinja"]

[QUOTE="texasgoldrush"] The dream sequences were amazing, some of the best writing I have ever seen in a game. How ever, while the plot is mostly good and the dialogue is wellw ritten (especially for a JRPG), it fall short due to a very weak villian and a slow beginning.texasgoldrush

Oh yeah. The villain is far from memorable and the beginning goes on for like four or five hours before the game gets really good. So yeah, it isn't the best representation of the genre, but I want to say that for this gen so far it has my favorite story. The existential themes were just really well done. Other games like Tales of Vesperia, Final Fantasy XIII, Eternal Sonata, Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins (I'm not going to count Fable II or Oblivion since they have bad stories) were all a little more on the light-hearted side or stuck to genre conventions for the story, whereas Lost Odyssey tried something new. The writing is spectacular through and through and despite having a weak villain, the ending was really satisfying regardless.

Oh I know that existentialism has been done before, but Lost Odyssey does it spectacularly in The Thousand Years of Dreams sequences. The plot that the characters go through doesn't break any new ground and sticks to genre conventions as well, but it's the writing that pushes it over the edge for me. I intend on play The Witcher as that looks right up my alley, but I'll be avoiding Dragon Age II for a while. It just doesn't seem appealing to me and after ME2 failed to impress me on any level at all I'll be approaching new BioWare games very cautiously.

One thing I will add is that FFXIII had one of the most fascinating universe for any game's setting.

It is just a wonder as to how SE failed to explore the storytelling potential it had. Script was good for some characters and moments, but for the most part, it is merely alright, and at its worst(Snow, team NORA, NPCs, some cutscenes etc.), it is downright poor.

Devil Survivor should definitely have a nod, ME2 as well, out of the small handful of RPGs I have played this gen.

Oh I know that existentialism has been done before, but Lost Odyssey does it spectacularly in The Thousand Years of Dreams sequences. The plot that the characters go through doesn't break any new ground and sticks to genre conventions as well, but it's the writing that pushes it over the edge for me. I intend on play The Witcher as that looks right up my alley, but I'll be avoiding Dragon Age II for a while. It just doesn't seem appealing to me and after ME2 failed to impress me on any level at all I'll be approaching new BioWare games very cautiously.

Dragon Age II is Biowares best written game since Baldur's Gate II and really, its even more thought provoking than BGII. In fact, the Mass Effect series should learn many things from DAII from how the convesation wheel works, to its choice and consquence. Mass Effect 2 however deserved all the awards it got, the characters were excellent and drove that game. It won the BAFTAs yesterday. However DAII has a much stronger plot and breaks free of all sorts of cliches, even going so far as giving your companions roles never seen before in a Bioware game. The characters themsleves are fantastic as well.

WRPG: The Witcher

jRPG: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. Freaking epic.