Home Gaming The spoiled RPG gamer?

The spoiled RPG gamer?

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There are a bunch of fantastic RPGs coming this year. We’ve got Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Witcher 3, the Elder Scrolls Online. I’m not going to include Final Fantasy XIII: Lighting Returns on that list, but it might even be a pretty good one, or at least half-way decent. But RPGs have changed so much over the years – have we become spoiled by the modern ones?

This question arose for me as I’ve been playing through Mass Effect, a game I missed out on originally and I’m fully enjoying now. It doesn’t matter that the game is seven years old – it is still engrossing, fun to play and well designed. Unfortunately, Lost Odyssey did not draw me in as much (also part of playing through games I missed out on over the December break). However, while playing Mass Effect, I have had to retrain my brain to use OCD saving, especially after losing tons of progress when I’ve failed to do so – every two to five minutes I try to remind myself to save, especially if I’ve just cleared a room of baddies.

Wrex2

I remember playing RPGs where you couldn’t just save whenever and wherever, when there were distinct save points, and sometimes it would take a while to find them, and sometimes it wasn’t wise to save there anyway. Remember when the only way to wake someone from a KO was to sleep at an inn, or when Phoenix Downs or their equivalents were insanely expensive? Sometimes you might die during a major boss battle, which would mean not just retrying the battle, but going through the entire dungeon again, including all (unskippable) cut scenes.

Lately, autosave has become standard, cut scenes all have a skip or fast forward option, and we rag on a game if the combat is too slow or the game requires too much grinding. I’m not a fan of pointless grinding, but I love a ton of side missions or an open world to use as a way of leveling up and exploring a range of environments. I want to fully customize where I allocate skill points or attributes, I want to make skill tree choices and put together my favorite party combinations. Yet, I remember fantastic RPGs where such control was limited yet enjoyment was still high, like Secret of Mana or even early Final Fantasies.

The witcher 3 wild hunt geralt fighting multiple opponents in a village in skellige psd jpgcopy

Have we become spoiled? Do we expect more from games, while still complaining when they aren’t hard enough, or reminiscent enough of games that really aren’t as great as we remember? Sure, we say graphics aren’t everything, but still shamelessly drool over Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Witcher 3; we complain about lack of meaningful characters or stories, yet ignore fantastic games like Nier. Do you think RPG gamers have become impossible to please? Or have RPG elements spilled over into so many games that it’s hard to narrow down the genre as more and more games fall into the “action/adventure with RPG and open-world elements” category?

Nier kaine and nier

All I know is that some fantastic RPGs from back in the day still have excellent replay value – I’m loving Mass Effect and Darryn is on his fourth or fifth play through of Final Fantasy 8. Yet others seem to lose appeal as time goes by, like Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon or even Borderlands 1. Some of our crew even argue that Final Fantasy 7 isn’t as awesome as some of you might remember it. So, do you think we’ve become spoiled by recent RPGs? Have RPGs gotten better or worse in recent years? I wonder if we can realistically even have this discussion considering the incredible power of nostalgia.

Last Updated: January 10, 2014

82 Comments

  1. Melasco

    January 10, 2014 at 13:35

    Mass Effect all the way baby!!!

    I’ve been playing shooters most of the time the last 2 years, so a good RPG will be most welcome! 🙂

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Vegas

      January 10, 2014 at 13:39

      I jammed ME1 about 7 times, ME2 about 13 times and ME3 about 4 times.

      LOVE IT

      Reply

      • Melasco

        January 10, 2014 at 13:42

        I think I’ve played them all at least 5 times each, and to be honest, I can see it happening again soon… ME2 was the best, even if it had the least gear customization… Fantastic game.

        Love all of them! I can’t wait to see where Bioware will take the franchise next!

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief in Vegas

          January 10, 2014 at 13:44

          Agreed.

          Also loved the KotOR series (even thought K2 was really brokenzors)

          Reply

        • Admiral Chief in Vegas

          January 10, 2014 at 13:45

          ME2 was my favourite “game” and epic story, but ME3 evoked the most emotions out of me

          Reply

        • Lardus-Resident Perve

          January 10, 2014 at 15:55

          I am starting my 4th end-to-end play through of ME (first one with ALL war asset affecting DLC). Greatest games trilogy I have ever played! KotOR was also awesome. Cannot wait for DA Inquisition, ME4 and hopefully in the future more KotOR as well! I love being drawn into a game. Like that scene where Grunt took on all the bugs, I got a tear of pride and loudly proclaimed (to an empty room) THATS MY BOY!!! And when he survived (and later sent me the drunk message) I was so filled with pride and joy I shed a man-tear! GREATEST GAMES EVER!

          Reply

          • Rags

            January 10, 2014 at 15:58

            Do you guys jam ME3 MP?
            If you don’t, try it 🙂

          • Gerard Matthews

            January 10, 2014 at 20:43

            Yup, sunk a good 600 hours into the MP. It’s addictive.

          • Rags

            January 10, 2014 at 22:52

            Damn, good work! I am almost completed with all the challenges. 270h so far. Combined with the SP totaling a nice 788 hours 😛
            Considering a nice tin can Limited Edition was R320, this was one of the best value for money games post Diablo 2 I’ve played.
            http://social.bioware.com/n7hq/home/overview/?name=Ragsza&platform=pc

          • Gerard Matthews

            January 13, 2014 at 20:48

            Yes very good value considering the amount of play time I got out of it. Here’s a link to my profile for ME3. I may pick it up again some time 🙂

            http://social.bioware.com/n7hq/home/?name=LePP3r&platform=pc

  2. Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

    January 10, 2014 at 13:38

    The old are as good as I remember as I still play them.

    FF8 and Diablo 2 are awesome games. Morrowind is still epic.

    I believe the RPG has been dummed down over the years.

    What ever happened to serious character customization with Attribute points manually needing to be put in and skill trees that had loads of options? I miss all that.

    Nowadays all attributes level up automatically and skill trees are limited (for the most part).

    Perfect example: Diablo3. However, that doesn’t mean true RPG’s aren’t still coming out. Just look at Path of Exile for example. I think RPG has now been split in to 2 camps. The “easy camp” (not a jab. There is place in the market for more accessible RPG’s) and the old school nitty gritty RPG with loads of possibilities to stuff up a character.

    Reply

    • Gareth L (That Guy)

      January 10, 2014 at 14:29

      Diablo isn’t an RPG though. Just because a game has swords and items doesn’t make it a role-playing game.

      Role-playing means that you have an effect on the game world, say what you want to say, do what you want to do and look how you want to look – leveling up and customising your character along the way.

      Reply

      • Sentient_slug

        January 10, 2014 at 14:49

        Sounds like Diablo?

        Reply

        • sentient_slug

          January 10, 2014 at 14:51

          Thant was a joke 🙂

          Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        January 10, 2014 at 14:53

        It still has the RPG elements of leveling, choosing skills, customizing those skills, choosing which attribute points to increase.

        The same as boulders gate, neverwinter nights and all those top-down RPG’s.

        So I’d agree with you that it isn’t an RPG if it’s Diablo3 coz there is no real RPG elements there. But Diablo 2 most certianly was an RPG.

        Reply

        • Gareth L (That Guy)

          January 10, 2014 at 14:58

          Again, no Diablo is not an RPG. If anything it’s referred to as an Action RPG, but only because it doesn’t have a proper category to fall in to.

          You have zero dialogue options influence nor can you affect how the story progresses. It’s linear and identical every single time that you play it, there’s no alternative ending to anything.

          Equipping your character and assigning their skills differently is not enough. Baldur’s Gate in fact was most definitely an RPG, as was the original Fallout games because of the options allowed for you to progress through the game. Heck in Fallout it’s possible to complete the game entirely on dialogue options. Do you see what I’m getting at? 🙂

          Reply

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            January 10, 2014 at 15:04

            Yes I do and I agree. But Diablo is still, for all intents and purposes a good example of how RPG’s (even action RPG) has fallen over the years.

            Even something like Diablo which had no dialogue options, choices that changed the world etc, has been dummed down. The entire genre and its sub-genres have undergone a drastic change from complex to easy where you no longer really do stat distribution and such stuff. It’s been created for the masses to enjoy and as I said it has its place. But the whole point of RPG being a complex game has been almost completely removed in most RPG’s of nowadays.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            January 10, 2014 at 15:06

            Math is hard! O_O

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            January 10, 2014 at 15:07

            lol

  3. Hammersteyn

    January 10, 2014 at 13:44

    I believe the market caters for all RPG fans. From South Park to Dark Souls. I think people still have a hard time accepting that FF has fallen as far as it has.

    Reply

    • Tarisma

      January 10, 2014 at 14:40

      FF will get better that’s what I tell myself

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        January 10, 2014 at 14:57

        Sure as hell can’t get worse :'(

        Reply

    • Zubayr Bhyat

      January 13, 2014 at 12:23

      Dark Souls is the most merciless and fun game I’ve ever played. So awesome!

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        January 13, 2014 at 12:39

        I swear every boss battle feels like a final boss battle. Every victory feels so rewarding.

        Reply

        • Zubayr Bhyat

          January 13, 2014 at 12:42

          Yip, definitely. The problem is building up to those fights. The first boss in the game was extremely easy, the next one way way way harder. It’s almost as if From Software conspire to make the game 100% harder with every progression.

          Reply

  4. Purple_Dragon

    January 10, 2014 at 13:45

    South Park Stick of Truth

    Reply

    • Tarisma

      January 10, 2014 at 14:39

      We can hope

      Reply

  5. Ottokie

    January 10, 2014 at 13:45

    RPG is most definitely my genre of choice from oldschool SNES RPG’s, Final Fantasy, to WOW, GW2 and almost Elder Scrolls Online (awww jiss!).

    And yes we are spoiled by it because the more pretty it is the more immersive it is the more we want to stay in our big fantasy world where everything bends to our will!

    PS. Happy new year to all the LG community! only got back online today 😛

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Vegas

      January 10, 2014 at 13:50

      Welcome back you lazy bugger

      Reply

  6. Umar Appreciates Nier

    January 10, 2014 at 13:55

    Fantastic read. I don’t think we’ve been spoiled. especially in terms of Jrpgs. All these cliche characters and stories can no longer cut it. Once you experience quality you can’t go back. That said, I think rpgs gamers need to be more open minded, actually gamers in general need to be open minded, especially to games like Nier and Growlanser Wayfarer of Time, as those ones that people do not take note of are the ones that shine the most

    Reply

  7. RinceThis2014

    January 10, 2014 at 13:56

    I don’t think we have. Games are an art form, one that continues to evolve. That being said we are of the ‘easy’ or ‘casual’ era where grinding doesn’t mean what it did 5 years ago. ME1,2,3 are brilliant examples of this evolution reaching a pinnacle if you ask me. I do think that there is a compromise with technology though. FF8 was a 100 hour game for me yet ME3 was 40. I supposed the trade off is visual vs time used as a means to make something harder. I prefer a mid balance, which most cannot achieve. Love you ME, really! Need to get back into them! After Witcher 2, Red Dead, Metro Last Nights, when the hell will I find the time?!

    Reply

  8. Alien Emperor Trevor

    January 10, 2014 at 13:58

    A good RPG is always a good RPG, some just work differently to others. As long as it works for that game then I’m happy. Personally I don’t like checkpoint systems & prefer to save anywhere, but it works for Dark Souls because it adds to the tension.

    Also coming out this year are a few isometric ones that I’m really looking forward to – Wasteland 2 & Pillars of Eternity. Old school yo!

    Reply

  9. Unavengedavo

    January 10, 2014 at 13:59

    What about Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2? I have been playing the 1st one for a while now and I am loving it.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 10, 2014 at 15:07

      Still to this day cannot enjoy Dark Souls. It seems great and all, but its so dull. The combat is awesome, the fact you need skill to play it is great, but the world? The story? The atmosphere? The pace? Its so, very, dull.

      Reply

  10. Alien Emperor Trevor

    January 10, 2014 at 14:02

    We had Legend of Grimrock released a while back, which is essentially a (short) updated Eye of the Beholder style game – it was fun to play something like that again.

    Reply

    • Brady miaau

      January 10, 2014 at 15:02

      fun, but I got bored after a few hours.

      It just did not capture the nostalgia I thought it would.

      Reply

  11. Daniel Hallinan

    January 10, 2014 at 14:09

    It’s a weird place. A LOT of it has come from the increasing sense of entitlement – encouraged by social media, a belief that what the gamer wants is both what the SHOULD get and what would be best for everyone. A sense that the gamer has a right to be spoiled, and a right to be furious when not – not to mention the encouragement of these people towards others to be the same. This tends to create the illusion that people are more unhappy now than they were, thus games are worse now than they were.

    In regards to Final Fantasy, even the western perception that 7 was one of, if not the best entry into the series is mostly a result of marketing and the resultant first exposure bias. Personally, 9 and 12 are my favorite – 9 having the better story and wonderful characters, 12 having astounding acting, and the best FF combat system to date – in my perception at least. 10 was great fun, and it had a more emotional story, but those two are the highlights. As such, I don’t believe the series has been going downhill at all – 13 itself was just problematic, though I feel the problems are more with the weird story pace and characters.

    Actually – my love for FF12 is part of why I couldn’t play the first Dragon Age: It’s attempts to mimic the combat system were frustrating when it simply didn’t work ;P

    The whole Mass Effect debacle was frustrating for me as well, as it touched on that entitlement issue. I intentionally, and largely successfully avoided all marketing media and forums for ME2 and ME3, and enjoyed them considerably more as a result. I *liked* the ending to ME3. Yet after that I found the wroth that was the larger community reacting to it, because the marketing (which I had avoided) had promised more, and they had accepted those promises at face value. More, they were convincing others that they SHOULD feel upset because being upset “is the right thing”. Demanding that Bioware change the ending was a depressing demand to see arise, more so due to the momentum that the demand gained.

    Ultimately, it’s extremely difficult to gauge how good a game is, or even how much you enjoyed it, because more and more the public opinion is caught up by the mob carrying swirling and hateful opinions (again, a presence that is made stronger by social media).

    That isn’t to suggest there aren’t problems – there certainly are, but they are rarely the fault (or even intention, as many would prefer to believe) of the developer, and often as a result of publisher pressure.

    In summery I still need to find away to play more Ni no Kuni 😛

    Reply

    • Umar Appreciates Nier

      January 10, 2014 at 14:25

      Do you frequent this site? If not…Please frequent this more often! Extremely well said…

      It’s a very thin line. I believe gamers have a right to be upset at unethical decisions in a game. Things such as the on-disc DLC debacle is rage worthy. When it comes to things such as the ending of Mass Effect 3, I felt that was a really low point in the in the industry and gaming community. Sure it wasn’t what fans expected, but was Mass Effect a bad series?NO! The ending was the right of the creator, and it his thus his artistic vision.

      I for do not believe RPGs have gotten worse, though certain branches are really taking a dip for the worse. Yup…JRPGs. I love Japanese Role Playing games, I share your love for FF 9 as that is my favorite entry as well…So I took off from work this holiday to work through my backlog of Jrpgs and I swear, I couldn’t stomach it. Played Magna Carta 2, Infinite Undiscovery, Eternal Sonata, Star Ocean and the story,characters , pace and acting was so bad that I just decided to quit them all together…Why should we satisfied with these endless anime inspired Jprgs. It is so much more than that. Where are the days of Vagrant Story,Grandia or Xenogears…I may sound like a spoilt brat, but as a LONG time jrpg fan, I think we deserve better than that.

      Anyway…well said!!

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        January 10, 2014 at 14:44

        I still think they should never have released an expanded ending DLC. I haven’t even played it. The abuse they got for the original ending was ridiculous.

        Reply

        • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

          January 10, 2014 at 14:45

          I downloaded the “extended ending” stuff and then promptly forgot about it. Haven;t seen it.

          Reply

          • BacchusZA

            January 10, 2014 at 23:44

            It’s worth playing through it actually. I finished the game without it, and then again with the Extended Cut, and as much as I agree the original ending was just fine (if not “happy”) & I loved it, the EC does flesh it out some, & enhances things somewhat. There’s a little too much exposition at points, & it breaks the pacing somewhat, but overall they did a damn good job with it

        • Umar Appreciates Nier

          January 10, 2014 at 14:46

          Dude, I’m glad you said that. I was so upset they gave in. All that abuse for an ending??Jeez man, never have I seen such a pitiful display of baseless rage..

          Reply

    • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

      January 10, 2014 at 14:34

      Nicely put.

      Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      January 10, 2014 at 14:38

      I was really surprised by the reaction to ME3s ending. I didn’t think it was particularly bad either, but the way people raged was something different. I think maybe they invested a lot more into it with their expectations, which was additionally fueled by marketing hype. That may be entitlement, but when devs/pubs over hype their games I don’t feel too much sympathy for how people react towards them either. Think you’re right about how social media makes it much easier for these kinds of things to happen now though.

      DA1s RTWP combat system wasn’t much different from the Baldur’s Gate games that it was supposedly succeeding. You ever play those?

      Reply

      • ToshZA

        January 10, 2014 at 15:05

        I really loved the ending for ME3. It made you realise so many things, and I don’t understand, to this day, people’s reaction to it.

        Reply

    • Rags

      January 10, 2014 at 15:31

      Oh man I did exactly this. I had a complete Mass Effect media blackout. Never read anything about it. Did the same for Diablo 3.

      Could not understand the hate about the ending. I loved and anticipated it. I stood transfixed and had to redo the scene because I took too long to make a decision. It was the most epic and emotional experience I’ve ever had playing any game. Yes, there where tears!

      Well said man, well said.

      Reply

  12. Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

    January 10, 2014 at 14:29

    FF6, 8 and 9 are all superior to Final Fantasy 7, in just about every conceivable way.

    Reply

    • Umar Appreciates Nier

      January 10, 2014 at 14:31

      Yup yup, 6 had individual characters each with unique traits, 8 had a great junction system and 9 having the ability system. The Materia system was quite meh. lol….but I do agree. FF 7 while it is inferior is still an amazing game and made JRPGS mainstream

      Reply

      • Tarisma

        January 10, 2014 at 14:45

        Really I find 8’s system clunky and tedious! I did enjoy the materia system, getting knights of the round to level 2 then GG.

        Reply

        • Umar Appreciates Nier

          January 10, 2014 at 14:47

          Lol Naa, Junctioning at least gave you some more options but KoTR was so OG….I feel ya

          Reply

    • Brenz

      January 10, 2014 at 18:12

      You smoking da crack Geoff, it warps your mind

      Reply

  13. Rags

    January 10, 2014 at 14:38

    Great to hear you started with the Mass Effect series. Do yourself a favour and do every quest and sidequest, explore every world. Take your time before starting with the next game.
    And when you do start with ME2, the Liar of the Shadowbroker DLC is a must. I recommend getting all the DLC apart from the cosmetic stuff anyway.

    Enjoy!

    As for the topic, I suppose so. And I abuse the system too sometimes that even if I cleared an area I reload so I try lose less health/ammo. 🙁

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      January 10, 2014 at 14:39

      Lair of the Shadowbroker was a great DLC.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief in Vegas

        January 10, 2014 at 14:48

        Agreed

        Reply

      • Brady miaau

        January 10, 2014 at 14:57

        I would say beyond great. It was the benchmark DLC, in RPG’s, in my ever so humble opinion.

        Reply

    • Her Highness the Hipster

      January 10, 2014 at 14:49

      thanks! my plan is to only get full versions with all DLC, if i can. need the full experience. 🙂 and yeah – i’m a completionist, so i’ll definitely go everywhere and do all the things

      Reply

      • Rags

        January 10, 2014 at 15:24

        In that case the first 3 novels are not bad either 😉

        Reply

      • Gareth L (That Guy)

        January 10, 2014 at 15:26

        What I truly enjoyed about the ME series is how well it follows your decisions across the trilogy. Helping someone in the first game will have that person come back to return the favour in the third.

        Reply

  14. Brady miaau

    January 10, 2014 at 15:01

    We have and I for one love it.

    I want to save and get on with my life when my life needs me. This allows me the freedom to play for short periods if I so choose. Awesome.

    AND Mass Effect, all DLC and ll must be played (Mass effect 1 DLC, the arena one, may not be worth it)

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      January 10, 2014 at 15:05

      That’s precisely why I haven’t played any FF8 this week after starting it on Sunday. I only have a little time in the evening & it works on a checkpoint system.

      Reply

  15. Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

    January 10, 2014 at 15:05

    CoD is the best RPG WOOOOT COD FWT!!!

    Reply

    • Xexo

      January 10, 2014 at 15:43

      I have no idea what you are trying to say, but I shall try translate…

      “Call of Duty is the Best Role Playing Game ‘FAAART’ Call of Duty For Win The!!!”

      Reply

      • Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

        January 10, 2014 at 15:56

        Lol something like that 😀 I assume that’s how they type

        Reply

  16. SaintsRowNigri

    January 10, 2014 at 15:15

    I think RPG’s have now hit the sweet spot in terms of evolution. Needless grinding seems to have taken a bit of a backseat to fun and adventuring.
    I for one, love the fact that I do not have to carry around 156 repair hammers incase my character’s sword decides it is at breaking point whilst fighting off hordes of undead…

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 10, 2014 at 15:18

      That was so very annoying, holy crap. Most annoying thing in a game, ever.

      Reply

  17. ToshZA

    January 10, 2014 at 15:17

    Something I miss terribly is the D&D RPG’s like Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape Torment, Neverwinter Nights. Man, those games were so rich and detailed, and you could literally create any kind of character you wanted, with deep customisation options. Different play-through’s yielded different results, and sometimes picking it up a few years later you experience something that you didn’t before, had a party member you didn’t think could be one, etc.

    Lately there aren’t many great RPG’s, but there have been a lot of good ones. I’m playing through Skyrim again atm, and it’s really a lot of fun. A lot to explore and do, and its really you in this world to just bum around or quest or discover or kill people or whatever it is you want to do. No pressure to touch the main questline at all. So, that’s really cool. But games such as The Witcher lead you on a more linear path, and they’re still great and engaging, and loads of fun.

    Then there’s the ARPG genre, where a number of options are available as well. Torchlight, Diablo, Path of Exile – and every one of those games people enjoy. I personally like D3 more than any of the others, because an ARPG is about the action, and D3 has that in droves.

    However, on the flipside, I cannot enjoy Dark Souls, no matter how much I’ve tried (6 characters to date – so I really have tried), and Torchlight (which many love) I found boring and tedious and samey.

    So spoiled for choice? Yes! Will you enjoy every RPG out there? No. The beauty of the genre atm is that there is something for anyone. The only thing I want, so very desperately, is a new D&D game. That’s all. And make it great. Like the Planescape Torment of 2014. Only, new and different, not just a reboot or rehash or sequel.

    Reply

  18. SkepticZA

    January 10, 2014 at 15:19

    Baldurs Gate 1 & 2 and Planescape: Torment have always been my Gold Standard when it comes to CRPG’s.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 10, 2014 at 15:21

      Still have those, as well as the Icewind Dale series. Still great games.

      I also enjoyed both Neverwinter games, even if they weren’t quite as good as your 3 top choices. 🙂

      Reply

      • CypherGate

        January 10, 2014 at 15:26

        I know this particular RPG isnt as great as the Icewind Dale series and Balders Gate, but do you remember the Ultima series?

        Reply

        • ToshZA

          January 10, 2014 at 15:28

          I remember it, but haven’t played Ultima since 3, on my 386 or 486 I think? I didn’t really understand or enjoy the games back then, so never followed the series.

          Reply

          • CypherGate

            January 10, 2014 at 15:50

            The only one i ever played was Ultima 8 Pagan. That game used to freak me out in some sense. Game was released in 1994. I never got to finish that game though. Was still the DOS days.

          • Gareth L (That Guy)

            January 10, 2014 at 15:52

            I’m the only person that I know that finished it. Loved it to bits.

  19. CypherGate

    January 10, 2014 at 15:23

    I miss the turn-based style RPG’s. They just had some sort of charm to them. It wasnt fast paced and you could just really sit down, relax and take your time with it. Games i miss are Suikuden. Who remembers that one? Suikuden 1 and 2, What about Wild Arms 1 and 2? Loved those games. There are plenty more great ones from the past that i miss. Those games really caught your attention. Lately we have good rpgs, but they never keep you engaged for long. Apart from ones like Mass Effect which i love to bit!

    Reply

    • Umar Appreciates Nier

      January 10, 2014 at 15:35

      I giggle like a schoolgirl whenever someone mentions Wild Arms and Suikoden..Play Bravely Default

      Reply

    • Her Highness the Hipster

      January 10, 2014 at 15:40

      i love suikoden sooooooooo much. miss that type of game

      Reply

      • Umar Appreciates Nier

        January 10, 2014 at 15:46

        Play this game called Exit Fate, RPGMaker game of high quality to mimic Suikoden, quite fun!

        EDIT: It’s free too

        Reply

  20. Kromas

    January 10, 2014 at 15:51

    Witcher gameplay is the worst RPG gameplay ever. Yet it is still one fantastic game. RPG gamers are spoiled but if you look at any other genre we are not nearly as spoiled. Let us skip all the COD’s and BF’s and go to say RTS.If you lose a fight the option to reload also has an option to change the difficulty.I mean right there on the screen!Not even hidden in menu options!
    As long as the story is good RPG gamers tend to look past other glaring problems and are usually more forgiving than others with the exception of survival simulators.But to be fair not one of those games in that genre is out of alpha yet 😛

    Reply

  21. Brenz

    January 10, 2014 at 18:37

    They have changed definitely, but I dont know if worse is the way to put it.
    For one thing we have grown older, and technology has moved forward, so they have evolved really, to move forward with the times, some of them are great, and others not.

    When we were younger it was easy to impress and satisfy us as gamers, we didnt expect what we do today, our standards have increased.
    It takes a lot more to impress me personally, as I have played so many and know what style I like, and am quite judgmental on little mistakes.
    For example Ni No Kuni, it was brilliantly designed game, classic jrpg elements, amazing quality in general, but i lasted about 15 hours and stopped as I just couldnt enjoy it anymore, combat annoyed me and it was too much aimed at children. So even though it was a good game and lots of you out there loved it, i feel i was too old and judgmental to enjoy it fully.
    Personal preference plays a big role.

    I still enjoy the classics, Im looking forward to playing quite a few of them when I get my Vita.
    I would be quite annoyed these days if i couldnt save where i wanted and had to redo entire dungeons after a failed boss attempt, as I dont have that kind of time anymore, life is more fast paced as an adult and you need those little conveniences like save anywhere to be able to enjoy lengthy adventures, I wish i waste away entire days on end in front of my TV playing games like days gone by, but i cant, and I expect my games to cater for my lifestyle.

    Are they better or worse, i think in the greater scheme they are kind of the same. We have our favourites and give the ones we dont like give a hard time today, like we did back then too. I am a vocal fan of FF7 and i think its the best, back then it was my favourite game and I didnt really like FF8, which others rate as the best.
    So even back when I was a young gamer I still had favourites and least favourites, same as today, thats why I think they are the same, as we still have our favourites and least favourites today, we are just more vocal and expecting of quality, and when we dont get it we moan and complain and post on websites and argue, and then a game gets a bad rep and people think oh why arent they like the old days, and thus debates like this are born.

    The times, they are a changing.

    Reply

    • Her Highness the Hipster

      January 12, 2014 at 09:08

      “life is more fast paced as an adult and you need those little conveniences like save anywhere to be able to enjoy lengthy adventures, I wish i waste away entire days on end in front of my TV playing games like days gone by, but i cant, and I expect my games to cater for my lifestyle.”
      This! so well said – maybe grinding irritates me more because i don’t have hours every day to play like i used to. remember playing games while waiting for dinner to be ready? now I’M the one making dinner 😛

      Reply

      • Brenz

        January 12, 2014 at 11:48

        Exactly, I used to love grinding, spending hours to get that one item, feeling the sense of achievement when you get it.
        These days if something becomes too much of a grind I ignore it and move on, finding the time to finish the game is hard enough without all the hours involved in grinding or optional extras.

        Reply

  22. MakeItLegal

    January 10, 2014 at 21:06

    I only have one comment and that would be avoid FF13-2 like the plague , it’s basically and interactive cutscenes of fights with a touch of strategy , if that’s an rpg I am a pink elephant of Beyers nadure speaking Cantonese wearing a bulls shirt or Man U ….

    Reply

  23. El Capitan del Blade

    January 13, 2014 at 12:28

    And open world fast travel systems!

    I booted up Morrowind again after a couple years (got the Elder Scrolls Anthology for Christmas, giggidy)

    And I had to walk to everywhere, the only “fast travel” methods were Silt Striders and Boats, and both cost money…

    These days, ping on map, go there, free of charge….

    What made Morrowind so fun was Scouring the Swamps and Ashlands, Meeting Interesting People, helping them out, Getting the quest reward, and then Murdering them and stripping them naked….

    Reply

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