Best Game of All Time.

[Gare]

Ah, I see. Then I suppose it's kinda pointless to go on with this. Would be somewhat redundant to bring up scenes from FFXII or Vagrant Story if you're not familiar with either of them.

[Slacker Magician]

Ah, I see. Then I suppose it's kinda pointless to go on with this. Would be somewhat redundant to bring up scenes from FFXII or Vagrant Story if you're not familiar with either of them.

I've played XII, Vagrant Story wasn't my cup of tea . The majority of the RPGs I've played have been J, I just much prefer the way Western games usually go.

[Elin]

Can't say I was hugely impressed by Baldur's Gate's story, to be honest. In terms of dialogue I agree it schools most JRPGs (though it's hardly a fair comparison being that you're comparing a product written in English to one that's been translated, often by those who aren't even very competent), but the actual plot is pretty barebones, and cliche-ridden on a level that would embarrass even many JRPGs. For me the game's storytelling was actually at its best during the sidequests, when the various NPCs and player characters were given a chance to shine. I never found the main story especially compelling or interesting. About the only thing that's stuck with me from it is Irenicus, and that's more because of his fabulous voice acting and great lines than it is the result of him being an especially interesting villain. I guess there's a lot to be said for a simple story told well, and the game is fantastically well-written, but it never felt particularly imaginative or memorable to me. It was just very run of the mill swords and sorcery stuff.

Planescape Torment, on the other hand... Oh man.

[Alan Heer]

My eyes started to bleed after the second line. But from the looks of it, it has some Xeno-spoilers, so I won't even bother to read all of it. I've still yet to play those games.



Vagrant Story says hi. So does FFXII or Tactics.

Of course, the whole series is one big spoiler. You'll have that in games with such a large amount of cutscene time.

[Russ]

Baldur's Gate was good, but a bit too short for me(and had a strange ending). Haven't played the sequel, but looking forward to trying it sometime.

[Tanthias]

My post will likely come as no surprise to the sheer majority, but...

Chrono Trigger.

This. Still my favourite game and the one I've played the most of (pretty sure I've played every version released (officially!) multiple times.).

[Slacker Magician]

Can't say I was hugely impressed by Baldur's Gate's story, to be honest. In terms of dialogue I agree it schools most JRPGs (though it's hardly a fair comparison being that you're comparing a product written in English to one that's been translated, often by those who aren't even very competent), but the actual plot is pretty barebones, and cliche-ridden on a level that would embarrass even many JRPGs. For me the game's storytelling was actually at its best during the sidequests, when the various NPCs and player characters were given a chance to shine. I never found the main story especially compelling or interesting. About the only thing that's stuck with me from it is Irenicus, and that's more because of his fabulous voice acting and great lines than it is the result of him being an especially interesting villain. I guess there's a lot to be said for a simple story told well, and the game is fantastically well-written, but it never felt particularly imaginative or memorable to me. It was just very run of the mill swords and sorcery stuff.

Planescape Torment, on the other hand... Oh man.

That's pretty harsh. I can't imagine that the dialogue is really so much better in Japanese to the point of making the game better.

I can't argue that the plot isn't kinda cliched but then, games that aren't either do well or fail pretty badly, there isn't usually a middle ground for the ones that aren't. I can't really think of any other games that involve having your soul stolen though . On the overall I think it fit into the heavy over-arching plot of the Forgotten Realms setting, they had a lot more flexibility for Planescape because Sigil is a crazy place. If they mucked around too much with plot in BG, TSR and Wizards could have just pulled the license right out from under them. As a whole side-quests in JRPGs tend to be pretty bland and uninvolved. That's in my experience anyway, it always seems like they throw side-quests in to be time wasters rather than actually further sub-plot.

[Elin]

That's pretty harsh. I can't imagine that the dialogue is really so much better in Japanese to the point of making the game better.

With regards to many older games, it really is. Translations have gotten much better in recent years, but a huge amount of JRPGs from back in the day are rife with spelling errors, stiff, emotionless writing, and outright mistranslations. Games with translations good enough that they read like they were written in English were very much the exception rather than the rule, and the vast majority of classic JRPGs read much better in Japanese than English. It's not enough to make a good game bad, certainly, but it's enough to make one worse than it would be otherwise. Putting aside the occasional gem like Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy IX and Vagrant Story, translations from that era were generally functional at very best, preserving most of the meaning while losing so much of the flavour in the Japanese text. Even something that's pretty well translated like Final Fantasy VIII has way more personality in Japanese.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I could do any better. Actually, I admire some of the localisation work that was done back then when you consider people were working to crazy deadlines on low wages. But when a translation's rushed enough that a second year Japanese major can spot errors in it, it's obviously going to be a detriment to the game.

And yeah, the plot's weak points in Baldur's Gate are definitely the result of the pretty standard fantasy setting. It plays it safe in a lot of ways. Like I said, I was more of a fan of it during the sidequests, which I felt tended to be much more imaginative than the main story itself.

I don't actually know why I'm arguing here. Baldur's Gate is totally one of the best games ever. Oh well.

[Slacker Magician]

With regards to many older games, it really is. Translations have gotten much better in recent years, but a huge amount of JRPGs from back in the day are rife with spelling errors, stiff, emotionless writing, and outright mistranslations. Games with translations good enough that they read like they were written in English were very much the exception rather than the rule, and the vast majority of classic JRPGs read much better in Japanese than English. It's not enough to make a good game bad, certainly, but it's enough to make one worse than it would be otherwise. Putting aside the occasional gem like Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy IX and Vagrant Story, translations from that era were generally functional at very best, preserving most of the meaning while losing so much of the flavour in the Japanese text. Even something that's pretty well translated like Final Fantasy VIII has way more personality in Japanese.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I could do any better. Actually, I admire some of the localisation work that was done back then when you consider people were working to crazy deadlines on low wages. But when a translation's rushed enough that a second year Japanese major can spot errors in it, it's obviously going to be a detriment to the game.

And yeah, the plot's weak points in Baldur's Gate are definitely the result of the pretty standard fantasy setting. It plays it safe in a lot of ways. Like I said, I was more of a fan of it during the sidequests, which I felt tended to be much more imaginative than the main story itself.

I don't actually know why I'm arguing here. Baldur's Gate is totally one of the best games ever. Oh well.

That's right .

[Jazzmarazz]

No harm in saying this again:
Secret of Evermore.

[Defiant_Psy]

Ys Book 1 & 2 (Turbo CD). Just play it and pretend that it's still the late '80's and you'll see what I mean.

[Slacker Magician]

Ys Book 1 & 2 (Turbo CD). Just play it and pretend that it's still the late '80's and you'll see what I mean.

Ys is my favorite on-going series , next to Atelier and Ar Tonelico anyway.

[Elmdor Rizer]

With regards to many older games, it really is. Translations have gotten much better in recent years, but a huge amount of JRPGs from back in the day are rife with spelling errors, stiff, emotionless writing, and outright mistranslations. Games with translations good enough that they read like they were written in English were very much the exception rather than the rule, and the vast majority of classic JRPGs read much better in Japanese than English. It's not enough to make a good game bad, certainly, but it's enough to make one worse than it would be otherwise. Putting aside the occasional gem like Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy IX and Vagrant Story, translations from that era were generally functional at very best, preserving most of the meaning while losing so much of the flavour in the Japanese text. Even something that's pretty well translated like Final Fantasy VIII has way more personality in Japanese.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I could do any better. Actually, I admire some of the localisation work that was done back then when you consider people were working to crazy deadlines on low wages. But when a translation's rushed enough that a second year Japanese major can spot errors in it, it's obviously going to be a detriment to the game.

And yeah, the plot's weak points in Baldur's Gate are definitely the result of the pretty standard fantasy setting. It plays it safe in a lot of ways. Like I said, I was more of a fan of it during the sidequests, which I felt tended to be much more imaginative than the main story itself.

I don't actually know why I'm arguing here. Baldur's Gate is totally one of the best games ever. Oh well.

I recently replayed Suikoden II, and I was shocked to discover it's probably one of the most overrated games ever. That isn't to say it's not amongst the best ever made, still. But the dialogue - and especially the non-important - is seriously fucked up. Especially Viktor talking about the hero wanking. Heh.

[OminousPrime]

Ys is my favorite on-going series , next to Atelier and Ar Tonelico anyway.

I'd have to agree. Ys is awesome. I'm playing Oath in Felghana right now and it is great. I have the other two released for the PSP as well and I am looking forward to playing them after I beat Oath in Felghana.

[Russ]

No harm in saying this again:
Secret of Evermore.

Oh heck yes. Easily one of the best rpg's ever, loved the alchemy system. There were a number of glitches though, but nothing that would take points off.