Community MetaRPG | Quest of the Avatar

[Arulan]

• This is my first community thread. I'd appreciate any and all feedback.

• This thread is for discussion of all RPGs.
• What is an RPG? Scholars are working on solving the question as we speak.

• I'll add new entries as they're contributed.
• Keep them to 80-140 words and focused on aspects that really spoke to you.

• Kenshi is a sandbox RPG, and is one of the best examples of emergent narratives because of it. The world of Kenshi is a cruel one. Wander too far from the safety of civilization and you'll likely be attacked by Dust bandits, become enslaved, or much worse. It's a game where I can play for 100 hours and barely survive being eaten by cannibals, while another another has a completely different experience by establishing a settlement. This results in incredible stories that are unique to you. The world is desolate, yet oddly breathtaking, and the soundtrack matches this. Contributed by Arulan

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance is my favorite open-world RPG in over a decade. The simulation of the world's inhabitants and the incredible attention to detail of quests goes a long way to making you believe in the world. It's one of those rare games where you think I wonder if this would work, and it almost always does. This isn't just a game where you can turn off quest markers, it feels like it was designed to be played without them. Great writing, beautiful landscapes, and new heights to immersion. Contributed by Arulan

 

[texhnolyze]

"I am Commander Shepard and this is my favorite thread in Meta Council."

 

[Le Pertti]

This genre is what the most embodies the promise of the medium that is video games. I remember as a kid playing those early games and dreaming that one day it all would be virtual reality in worlds with infinite possibility.

So naturally I gravitate towards open world games but mostly towards RPGs. Best is when they are both!


What are some of your favourite moments in RPGs? Mine has to be in Arx Fatalis, when I figured out how to make bread! I know, that might not be very "RPG" but it is, in that moment I was so immersed in the world and felt I was actually making bread!

 

[Milena]

I love RPGs!
I'm mostly into story driven and immersive games. I love both action and party based RPGs, especially if they have RTwP gameplay. Oh, and big plus if they let me play with a female character!

My first RPG was Ultima IX, before that I was mostly into platformers and adventure games. I know that it's not among the great RPGs, but Ultima IX made me explore this incredible and (I thought at the time) detailed world and I was completely enamored with it. It wasn't translated in Italian, so I played with a dictionary by my side (no internet at the time).
I remember discovering this tomb early in the game, near Britain, that had an amazing sword in it and I used that sword until late game.
I tried to learn the magic system, but it was behind my English skill to grasp how the hell it worked.

After that, I explored MMORGPs (with Dark Age of Camelot being the only one I truly played for a long time) and other RPGs I could afford.

 

[Kvik]

Thanks for making the thread, Arulan . I'll be sure to post my impressions of Zanki Zero towards the end of the week.

What are some of your favourite moments in RPGs?

If I have to pick 3 out of so many (spoilers ahead):

- The conversation between Weismann and Joshua at the end of Trails FC.
Basically my turning point of becoming a Trails fan. The way the secrets of the world is slowly revealed until its culmination at that point is extremely well done.

- Olivier's declaration of war of sorts against Osborne in Trails 3rd (Star Door 8)
A great character reveal followed by one of the most Olivier thing Olivier has ever done. A superb intro which sets the stage for future Trails games.

- Dana's goodbye at the epilogue of Ys VIII.
This was such a bittersweet moment because at that point only five mortal souls remember who she was (and the existence of her civilization by extension) and what they went through on the island to get to that point.

 

[Alextended]

Panzer Dragoon Saga is my favorite for the world, story and overall player journey I guess. Pretty epic shit with complex characters in even more complex situations. I'd read a book of that (they novelized it iirc but I think only in Japan). I like the stories of lots of other games but they tend to be less story driven and more gameplay/systems driven. Like System Shock 2. I wouldn't read a novel of that without a ton of added elements that weren't in the game to make it interesting. While the game was interesting mechanically and made it a cool journey for the player, it wouldn't be cool to just read about scavenging.

If you want to reminisce of Panzer Dragoon Saga's entirety (and the whole series even) without actually playing through it (or watching it on youtube I guess) you can go through this little write up that comes complete with screenshots of each scene and area. Very nice stuff.

Part 4: Panzer Dragoon Saga

After the events of Panzer Dragoon drew to a close, roughly thirty years passed before the next chapter of the story, Panzer Dragoon Saga, took place.

www.panzerdragoonlegacy.com

Xenogears is another good one for sure. And Final Fantasy Tactics. And Vagrant Story. They're slowly coming back to me, I'm old

Grandia was great too imo. Lovely feelings of adventure similar to what Skies of Arcadia did later but the stakes did grow to epic levels too.

On the PC side I love the likes of Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale, Gothic II, Fallout 2 and others. I was younger as a console gamer so I think of these first though.

 

[lashman]

that's an awesome OT, Arulan!!! great job

(still missing a cover, though )

 

[Taborcarn]

Well done! Loves me some RPGs!
I just started Pathfinder: Kingmaker, I'll post some impressions here once I get a bit further. So far it feels like slipping on an old comfortable glove.

 

[Flips]

Gevin Gizmo Rockin' Ranger BlueOdin

 

[BlueOdin]

 

[Routa]

I have to return to Kenshi, I only scratched the surface of that game and have plenty of enthralling stories.

Recently acquired Kingdom Come and Last Remnant, will probably get to those next.

Also temporary shelved Outward and Pathfinder...there's too many and not enough time

 

[Ascheroth]

Last Remnant

Eventually I will get back to that game.
It's probably one of my favorite games ever, but I don't think I've ever made it even to the halfway point, lol.
It's combat system is unlike anything, and the music < 3

There are a bunch of QoL mods as well (I haven't tried any of them myself)

Static enemy levels:

Static BR Scaling Mod :: The Last Remnant General Discussions

At long last, the day has come for my ultimate mod to be released, The Last Remnant mod for making enemy BR levels static and evenly scaled across the entire game! Say goodbye to annoying enemy scaling with your BR and possibilities of permanently ruining your save game! It should be noted that...

steamcommunity.com

Seems to show you all the information the game hides from you and more:

TLRPlanner for The Last Remnant

TLRPlanner - a tool and trainer for the computer game The Last Remnant

enceler.github.io

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I'll be keeping my eye on this thread since I'm always on the lookout for more RPGs to play.

I recently finished playing through the Witcher trilogy and I must say that the Bloody Baron arc of 3 was the best piece of storytelling I have seen in a game. CDPR did a fantastic job with that game and its quests.

Also, I regret not buying The Last Remnant before it was removed from Steam

 

[Rockin' Ranger]

Also, I regret not buying The Last Remnant before it was removed from Steam

Square Enix Store | Europe

Buy video games online at the Square Enix official store. Shop our top franchises including Final Fantasy, Nier, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest & more.

store.eu.square-enix-games.com

You might still be able to get it! The Square Enix EU store still has keys for €9.99, I was able to buy one a few years ago from the US using PayPal and entering an address in the Netherlands.

You will have to use your real phone number since I needed a verification code sent through SMS, but I had no problem doing that with a US phone number.

The Australian store has it too, but I wasn't able to use PayPal there and I didn't want to try the purchase using a US card with it.

Square Enix Store | Australia

Buy video games online at the Square Enix official store. Shop our top franchises including Final Fantasy, Nier, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest & more.

store.eu.square-enix-games.com

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Square Enix Store | Europe

Buy video games online at the Square Enix official store. Shop our top franchises including Final Fantasy, Nier, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest & more.

store.eu.square-enix-games.com

You might still be able to get it! The Square Enix EU store still has keys for €9.99, I was able to buy one a few years ago from the US using PayPal and entering an address in the Netherlands.

You will have to use your real phone number since I needed a verification code sent through SMS, but I had no problem doing that with a US phone number.

The Australian store has it too, but I wasn't able to use PayPal there and I didn't want to try the purchase using a US card with it.

Square Enix Store | Australia

Buy video games online at the Square Enix official store. Shop our top franchises including Final Fantasy, Nier, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest & more.

store.eu.square-enix-games.com

Thank you! I'll try that when I get home later today.

 

[goat]

Good timing with the thread as I'm about to finish Death End re;Quest and I really want to share my impressions of it. I'll have them up as soon as I'm done playing.

 

[Durante]

Perfect timing on this thread!

Yesterday, my physical copy of The CRPG Book finally arrived (after delays etc.) and it's glorious.

Of course, I knew about the content, but it's one thing to know about it in the abstract or even in a pre-release digital copy, but another to hold it in your hand. 520 colorful pages of concentrated history and information about your favourite hobby is something to behold.
And it's even better when you know that it's a community effort, the proceeds of which go to a good cause.
And better yet again when some of the articles are written by your most admired people in the industry, such as Tim Cain or Chris Avellone, and give some insight into how they got into CRPGs and what they value.
Having all of that in a solid (it's almost exactly 2kg!), physical thing is wonderful.

I spent quite a few hours reading it so far, and in a few places doing so even made me a bit emotional (which sound silly for what is above all an informational book, but it is what it is).

 

[Knurek]

Midway through the year and I still haven't played an RPG.
I just have the biggest paradox of choice. Way too many games I'd be interested in.

Spoiler

For crying out loud, I still haven't finished a single Gust game, despite owning most of them

 

[Arulan]

that's an awesome OT, Arulan!!! great job

(still missing a cover, though )

Thanks. Cover added!

I wasn't aware there's a print version now, how's the quality of the pages and colors?

The inside is just as fantastic.

 

[Aeana]

I like RPGs.

 

[lashman]

Thanks. Cover added!

ooooh, that's a good one!

 

[Knurek]

I like RPGs.

Not true.

Spoiler

You RPGs

 

[Le Pertti]

So what RPGs have you been most into? Not necessarily your favourite or the one you played the most but the one you were most into?

For me I think tied between Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind. Pretty much played them at the same time and yeah it was alot of playing

Sure I still find both to be one of the finer examples of the genre of RPG both attempt.

 

[Rockin' Ranger]

I've been doing my first ever playthrough of Baldur's Gate 2, though I'm currently on a break to finish a few games that are on Origin Access before my subscription runs out. I'm not to far into it and have just a couple things to finish up before I go and rescue Imoen once I resume playing. My next RPG after BG2 is probably going to be The Last Remnant since Gizmo is playing it.

I have managed to get through a decent number of RPGs so far this year having finished Dragon Quest XI, Grim Dawn: Forgotten Gods, ELEX, Chrono Trigger, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, and Final Fantasy XV to date.

 

[PossiblyPudding]

RPG's are by far my most favorite genre. Can't remember exactly what my very first one was, but it was from the Gold Box I know that much and if I had to guess it was probably Champions of Krynn.

And that love of the genre extends to just about everything with RPG elements. Chances are you could name a random MMO and I've probably played it at some point. DAoC (Dark Age of Camelot) will always be my favorite.. from running into the Legendary Afanc for the first time or finally getting to Legion in the Darkness Falls dungeon, so many great memories. I miss it so much.

 

[Taborcarn]

I finally finished BG2 after first starting it when it came out and I loved it. Don't know why it took me so long to get back to it but I'm so glad I finally did.

The first time I think I had only gotten up to the rich people's house with all the trolls in it before moving on to something else.

 

[Arulan]

Well done! Loves me some RPGs!
I just started Pathfinder: Kingmaker, I'll post some impressions here once I get a bit further. So far it feels like slipping on an old comfortable glove.

After everything I've heard, I'm really looking forward to playing it. I didn't have time last year.

I have to return to Kenshi, I only scratched the surface of that game and have plenty of enthralling stories.

Recently acquired Kingdom Come and Last Remnant, will probably get to those next.

Also temporary shelved Outward and Pathfinder...there's too many and not enough time

I had to pause my Kenshi adventures or else I wouldn't play anything else this year. I'm really looking forward to continuing though. I'm going to try to go through the fog to Mongrel again.

Let us know how it goes if you start playing again. I'm curious what you think of Kingdom Come: Deliverance too.

What are some of your favourite moments in RPGs? Mine has to be in Arx Fatalis, when I figured out how to make bread! I know, that might not be very "RPG" but it is, in that moment I was so immersed in the world and felt I was actually making bread!

Speaking of Kenshi and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Both have given me incredible moments.

How I survived cannibals in Kenshi.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance -- My Friend Timmy quest spoiler

During the search for Timmy I was confronted by bandits from the Camp at the windmill. I managed to convince them that I'd heard he was holed up in Rattay. This was naturally a lie. They went on their way, but left someone to watch over me. Once I saw that they were gone I was left with little choice but to throw him in a ditch where no one could find him.

I did eventually find Timmy on my own, but his tale of wandering into the camp while intoxicated didn't inspire me with confidence. I decided to take it easy for the next few days, and return to the simple life.

A couple of days had passed since my encounter with the bandits. I was in Rattay, and about to enjoy a late-evening game of dice when I noticed something odd. There were bandits sitting at a table in the tavern, and not just any bandits, but the bandits I sent on a wild goose-chase here for Timmy. I couldn't believe that they were really here.

I decided to wait just outside in order to see what they would do. It was getting pretty late, and I knew they'd have to leave soon. I decide to follow while keeping my distance.

I continued to follow as they left Rattay. At first I thought they were heading towards the miller. Thoughts raced through my head that they knew I lied to them, and were coming to where I lived. It turns out this wasn't the case as they continued down the path.

I followed them on foot for literal hours across most of the map. I wasn't expecting to go on such an extensive journey, and had to scavenge the nearby grounds for mushrooms to keep myself from starving. I couldn't stray far from the path because I didn't want to lose sight of them.

A suspicion began to grow in my mind. I wonder if these bandits are leading me to their camp? The Camp! Once we began to arrive at Rovna, and headed further north into the woods I knew I had to be right.

At a couple of points along this forest path the bandits passed Cuman lookouts! This must be it! I continued to follow them, making sure to avoid any further lookouts.

In the end they led me straight to the Camp! The place I've been searching for throughout the last few quests. This completely blew me away. This wasn't the result of a formal quest. No quest markers had guided me to it. It was all the result of the logical consistency of the world simulation, and it's a moment I know I will always cherish.

 

[Gevin]

 

[Milena]

RPG's are by far my most favorite genre. Can't remember exactly what my very first one was, but it was from the Gold Box I know that much and if I had to guess it was probably Champions of Krynn.

And that love of the genre extends to just about everything with RPG elements. Chances are you could name a random MMO and I've probably played it at some point. DAoC (Dark Age of Camelot) will always be my favorite.. from running into the Legendary Afanc for the first time or finally getting to Legion in the Darkness Falls dungeon, so many great memories. I miss it so much.

OMG, another DAoC fan!!!

So many great memories in that game. From the first time starting a character around Pridwen Keep, to exploring Stonehenge, raiding dragons, building houses, making templates for my guild (I was tasked to min/max our characters on the cheap)... I loved leveling up my first character to 50, back when it took months! It was thanks to this game that I discovered that I prefer support roles in multiplayer games. I know it's kind of cliché for women to choose support characters, but I really love being able to buff / heal my team, while calling the shots.
I really loved that game.

Apart from DAoC and Ultima IX, I think I have the fondest memories with Mass Effect 1, KotOR 2 and The Witcher 3.
KotOR 2 has this feeling of deepest darkness and melancholy that really speaks to me; also, I love space adventures and I generally prefer sci-fi to fantasy.

The Witcher 3 is a game I would've played a lot of more a decade ago. As a fan of the books and the first 2 games (I played The Witcher 1 at launch, back when it took 2 minutes to load a screen), The Witcher 3 blew me away and surpassed all my expectations.

But Mass Effect 1 was the game that really stole my heart. And the one that still infuriates me the most. I won't get into details, but I was a massive Mass Effect fan before the third game. I've played the first game more than a dozen times, always with FemShep. I've never replayed the series after 3

 

[Aeana]

Well done! Loves me some RPGs!
I just started Pathfinder: Kingmaker, I'll post some impressions here once I get a bit further. So far it feels like slipping on an old comfortable glove.

An old comfortable glove that is then used to slap you in the face repeatedly. Kingmaker is excellent, but the GM is a jerk!
The Enhanced Edition seems to have addressed quite a lot about that, though.

 

[Alexandros]

So what RPGs have you been most into? Not necessarily your favourite or the one you played the most but the one you were most into?

For me I think tied between Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind. Pretty much played them at the same time and yeah it was alot of playing

Sure I still find both to be one of the finer examples of the genre of RPG both attempt.

Morrowind by far. I found that game's world and lack of handholding to be absolutely fascinating.

 

[Knurek]

I used to play through Dragon Quest 1 each Christmas Eve.
Just a perfect game to get you in a festive mood.

 

[PossiblyPudding]

OMG, another DAoC fan!!!

So many great memories in that game. From the first time starting a character around Pridwen Keep, to exploring Stonehenge, raiding dragons, building houses, making templates for my guild (I was tasked to min/max our characters on the cheap)... I loved leveling up my first character to 50, back when it took months! It was thanks to this game that I discovered that I prefer support roles in multiplayer games. I know it's kind of cliché for women to choose support characters, but I really love being able to buff / heal my team, while calling the shots.
I really loved that game.

DAoC was so good!

It was the first MMO that me and my family all played together. Dad was the tank, mom healer/support and I was dps/off tank. And maybe it's a bit cliché, but never underestimate just how important a good healer is. It's by far the most important role someone can play. And my mom was so good at it.. still one of the best healers I've ever had the chance to play with. Really bummed that she kind of fell out of love with MMO's after DAoC.

Some of the other great memories are how I became a co-guild leader at 15 years old through random chance. The only guild that I didn't start myself was my first one in DAoC, run by a husband and wife team. Both were incredible people that I regret falling out of touch with. A couple weeks after they invited me they gave me a shot at recruiting and after successfully inviting one new member I found another one, turns out it was the guild leader's wife playing an alt. They liked my sales pitch for the guild so much that I was promoted to officer.

A few months go by and due to the guild increasing in size they realized they couldn't run the guild themselves and needed someone else that could be on during the times they couldn't. It came down to three choices, two other members and my dad. My dad hated the thought of leading a guild and turned down the offer. He loved organizing raids but didn't do well when it came to dealing with people outside of that. So I became the third consideration, though I was told that it was basically a formality and that one of the other two would most likely get the spot. Which I understood, they had been around longer than me. A couple weeks go by and one of the two gets booted from the guild for reasons I can't fully remember. The guild leader tells me that the other guy is getting the spot and I had to tell him that chances are he was leaving the guild due to the other member getting kicked. Most people in the guild suspected they had a relationship going in real life.. turns out we were right. He left a couple days later. So I ended up with the position by default.

And now I carry that guild name with me to whatever MMO I"m playing. It's never the same without those other members, but it was an impactful moment in my life that I'll always cherish.

Now for my favorite RPG.. hmm.. that's tough. I'd probably have to say the original two Fallout games. I should really play through 2 again. It's been a few years since my last time.

 

[BlueOdin]

Hope I finish Resi 2 soon so I can start Baldur's Gate EE playthrough in preperation for BG 3

Or going to start Shadowrun Dragonfall

 

[xinek]

Morrowind by far. I found that game's world and lack of handholding to be absolutely fascinating.

I've been interested in playing Morrowind or Oblivion -- the only Elder Scrolls game I've played is Skyrim. Which one of those games is better at being an immersive RPG and having great quests? I'm also interested in good mods. I don't see myself ever having the time to play both, sadly. Well, maybe.

 

[Panda Pedinte]

Did someone said Pathfinder: Kingmaker?

I bought it in the last sale and I'm having so much fun with it. "I" (it was my wife, she loves messing with character creators) created a human Paladin and choose the angriest voice available. The little interactions and small conversations between your party member while they're resting or during a scene helps develop the characters. Also Nok-Nok is the best party member.

 

[Arulan]

I've been interested in playing Morrowind or Oblivion -- the only Elder Scrolls game I've played is Skyrim. Which one of those games is better at being an immersive RPG and having great quests? I'm also interested in good mods. I don't see myself ever having the time to play both, sadly. Well, maybe.

I'd strongly recommend Morrowind over Oblivion. Morrowind might be the best example ever of world-building details. Notice that foreign language? You can translate it. Find a letter written in gibberish? You can apply real-world cryptography and break the cipher. That's a just pretty robe. No, its color represents the hierarchy in their society and is embroidered with a religious quote. You can infer the location of important (unknown) sites by using the geography and some basic archaeological finds. This game invites you to scrutinize it and dig deep. And as Alexandros mentioned, being designed without quest markers makes you a much more involved participant in the world. That's a very satisfying feeling for me.

 

[Alexandros]

I've been interested in playing Morrowind or Oblivion -- the only Elder Scrolls game I've played is Skyrim. Which one of those games is better at being an immersive RPG and having great quests? I'm also interested in good mods. I don't see myself ever having the time to play both, sadly. Well, maybe.

I am heavily biased towards Morrowind although I've played both games a lot. I'm hesitant to make a recommendation without knowing your tolerance for older games because Oblivion is much easier to get into, it has better graphics, full voice acting. I bounced off Morrowind the first couple of times I tried to play it but once I stuck with it and started exploring the world I was floored.

 

[goat]

Ok, I just "finished" Death End re;Quest. I'll try to leave out as many spoilers as I can, and any that I do will be properly marked, but won't be massive spoilers anyways.

First off, there are multiple endings in typical Compile Heart fashion. There is a normal ending

Ending Description

it's the bad ending

and a true ending, but also extra scenes for each party member (on new game+, you can beat the final boss then pick which party member to choose

"Proper extra scene for true true ending"

pick Shina

I've only seen

Party Member

Celica

but read up on the others (I'll go back for them later).

The story has me shook right now. It's been a long time since a game has messed with my head as much as this one has. I'm still trying to put things into place and it ends with a massive

Big Ending Spoiler

cliff hanger

But that will be obvious to anyone following Compile Heart/Idea Factory announcements. The story is pretty damn dark,

Minor True Ending Spoiler

even the true ending

The good:
Story, story, story. It had me on my toes for the majority of my play through. Lots of mystery and plenty of twists.
Combat. Like a typical Compile Heart game. They know turn based combat, it does come with some negatives, which I'll explain later.
The Visual Novel/RPG works well.
Length. Not too long, but not too short. Took me about 20 hours, but I did use the overpowered DLC weapons about half way through.
No grinding. You get tons of experience playing normally.

The bad:
Combat. There is a very unexplained feature of the combat design. Some enemies can counter you. When you get countered, that party member takes damage and loses their turn. Compile Heart doesn't explain the factors at all, and it comes off as almost random. Even the people on GameFAQs couldn't figure it out.
The visual novel part is almost too good. The actual game sometimes gets in the way of the story. That's why I started to use the DLC weapons as at about chapter 6, some spawns are just too damn tanky.
It may have worked better as just a visual novel.

The ugly:
The ending. As explained above. I really can't go into detail without spoiling everything. Let's just say I hate what I mentioned earlier, especially when I read that

Complie Heart Announcement

the "sequel" may not even be a sequel, so no closure for part 1, which if true, pisses me off

I'm giving it a 3.5 out of 5. I do recommend it to CH/IF fans or even people looking for a great story. It's just rough around the edges. With the combat faults removed, it would easily have been scored a 4/5 and with the ending issues removed, I would have scored it at 4.5/5.

 

[Ascheroth]

So what RPGs have you been most into? Not necessarily your favourite or the one you played the most but the one you were most into?

For me I think tied between Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind. Pretty much played them at the same time and yeah it was alot of playing

Sure I still find both to be one of the finer examples of the genre of RPG both attempt.

I have a soft spot for Neverwinter Nights, because I played it when I was pretty young and it was basically what got me into programming, lol.
Morrowind was great too, although I never got very far. Perhaps I will need to revisit it once, I love the world - it's truly alien and weird and interesting and nothing like your regular "swords and magic" fantasy that Oblivion and Skyrim mostly are.

Nowadays I mostly play JRPGs thoughs.
I'm not entirely sure how to quantify "most into", but for me it's probably those 2 games as well. Them and The Last Remant.

I said it earlier already, but I utterly adore that game. Not only has it learning-by-doing progression, which I really like, the battles have such a massive scale.
You have a max-party size of 18(!) and fight against lots of enemies, or few big ones, and battles still feel very fast.
This is primarily because you don't have full control over every party member. This is something a lot of people dislike because it feels random to them, but it's really not that random if you know what you're doing.
You split your party into Units, with a maximum of 6 and every unit has a maximum of 5 members (yes, you can't have a full 6 units with the max party size). In battle you give commands per unit. Every turn, every unit has a bunch of commands available, that are entirely situational and give you no direct control over each party member.
I always think it's a bit similar to a card game - You set up your deck (your units, their formations, the skills you allow characters to use, etc) and then have to choose the best option available from the hand you draw each turn. Although your "hand" is not completely random but depends on various factors, like who is in your unit, what abilities do they have, which formation do they use, who is the target, how far is the target away from you, is the target is already engaging allies, etc.

 

[Rockin' Ranger]

An old comfortable glove that is then used to slap you in the face repeatedly. Kingmaker is excellent, but the GM is a jerk!

My Pathfinder GM in the Rise of the Runelords campaign I'm playing is a jerk so this sounds perfect for me.

 

[Milena]

DAoC was so good!

That's amazing! My parents would never play anything with us, apart from card games on vacation (not even board games, no; only card games). I would have loved such a connection with them.

I did play with my brother, though. Not when I first started playing on the Italian server, as he was too little and still in the LEGO phase (and I was 15, so not that old myself).
When I played on the italian server I mostly just followed others around and went into RvR, but I wasn't really involved in any guild stuff, beyond showing up.

Later, my brother asked to try the game, so I used the American account I had used for a few months after the collapse of the Italian server: he was hooked and he hooked me right back!
We played on the Classic server, as I honestly didn't want to grind for the Trials of Atlantis gear. Then we found other italian players (one from our hometown as well!) and created our guild. We didn't really have a guild master, as we numbered like 12 people in total, but my brother and I helped everyone else. When others were at work they left us their accounts to grind for gear, level up new characters, finish their templates and whatnot. So that when they came back and we played together in the evenings, we could just focus on the RvR part together.

I've never played Hibernia. I tried Midgard a couple of times, but my heart has always been with Albion

 

[Rockin' Ranger]

It was the first MMO that me and my family all played together. Dad was the tank, mom healer/support and I was dps/off tank. And maybe it's a bit cliché, but never underestimate just how important a good healer is. It's by far the most important role someone can play. And my mom was so good at it.. still one of the best healers I've ever had the chance to play with. Really bummed that she kind of fell out of love with MMO's after DAoC.

 

[Durante]

Talking about Morrowind, I found this a bit sad:

 

[texhnolyze]

So what RPGs have you been most into? Not necessarily your favourite or the one you played the most but the one you were most into?

For me I think tied between Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind. Pretty much played them at the same time and yeah it was alot of playing

Sure I still find both to be one of the finer examples of the genre of RPG both attempt.

It's easily FFIX and Fallout 2 for me, not sure if I can choose between them. I've beaten the games several times already, using whatever options and combinations (skills, equipment, party composition, etc) that I haven't tried in my previous playthroughs. That said, it's been a while since the last time I played Fallout 2. I missed the game, but fortunately I've got Atom RPG last year so I'm good.

Talking about Morrowind, I found this a bit sad:

Wow, sad but accurate. Seems like they've successfully made their next game even more comfortable than Oblivion.

 

[PossiblyPudding]

I did play with my brother, though. Not when I first started playing on the Italian server, as he was too little and still in the LEGO phase (and I was 15, so not that old myself).
When I played on the italian server I mostly just followed others around and went into RvR, but I wasn't really involved in any guild stuff, beyond showing up.

Later, my brother asked to try the game, so I used the American account I had used for a few months after the collapse of the Italian server: he was hooked and he hooked me right back!

Funnily enough I would have liked that connection with my brothers. They were/are all much older than me and had moved out well before MMO's really started becoming popular. Two of them dropped playing games altogether and the third only had consoles, which was always fun playing on there with him, but no MMO's obviously.

And it sounds like you two had a lot of great memories too! That guild setup you had is pretty awesome.

Mine was never all that large when we were at our biggest, maybe 60 members. Of those I had long term friendships with about a dozen. Sadly we all eventually drifted apart, but for about 10 years my mom and a woman from Australia emailed each other almost daily.

They started treating each other like sisters after a while. It broke my mom's heart a bit when the emails stopped coming but we all kind of suspected that the woman might have passed. She was in her late 60's when we first met her and toward the end of those 10 years she had been having health issues.

And I got to hear about and celebrate folks having kids, the kids growing up and going to school for the first time, playing sports.. stuff like that. Got to meet a few of the guild members in person too! It was a great time.

I'm also with you when it comes to Albion. Arrich, my Briton armsman, was my first character and the one that became guild leader. But I love my alts and trying everything so I did have a Celt vampiir named Bortyr and a Valkyn savage named Valcor.

.

Ha! She really is, both in and out of the gaming realm.

 

[Milena]

Talking about Morrowind, I found this a bit sad:

I won't lie, it took me some time to get into Morrowind. It was a lot to take in at the beginning and I was frankly lost. But once I finally got going, it was an amazing experience.
Oblivion and Skyrim are certainly much easier to approach and digest (and the Fast Travel to anywhere is something I can't do without now), but they're so much blander than Morrowind.

 

[Dandy]

Thanks. Cover added!

The inside is just as fantastic.

That picture brings back so many memories. I ADORED Dark Sun: Shattered Lands(I loved the tabletop setting, and read all the novels too). Me and my best friend growing up played through it so many times. It was so good to see SSI evolve from the Gold Box games to this.

 

[Alexandros]

Morrowind is indeed glorious in many ways but it also true that you have to commit to it. Oblivion is much more immediately satisfying but it can't evoke the same range of emotions as Morrowind can. Playing Oblivion I felt entertained, playing Morrowind I felt excited, frustrated, baffled, lost, amazed, afraid, elated. Yeah I know it sounds corny as hell but I believe most Morrowind players can back me up on this. Not only is the world utterly alien and mysterious compared to Oblivion's standard fantasy style, the game also tried its hardest to immerse you in that world.

Even something as simple as the method of fast travel not being a click on the map but an actual in-game fast travel service (silt striders, boats, mage guild teleporters, mark and recall) does a lot to make you feel part of the world. The directions for a quest being "exit the town and go north until you see a statue, then head east until you find a river" instead of "this person lives in that town, go find him" means that you are actually exploring the world looking for landmarks instead of blindly following a quest compass. Morrowind has hundreds of little things like that that make it a truly immersive experience.

 

[Li Kao]

So what RPGs have you been most into? Not necessarily your favourite or the one you played the most but the one you were most into?

Hmm, pretty evident answer if we are talking about CRPG, but I will have a harder time on JRPG.

CRPG it's Planescape Torment by a million miles. I played the game years ago at release and I still have scenes or lore bits burned into my soul. That's how fascinated I was. As a mediocre human being who dreamed to be a writer it inspired me some projects, as a reader I don't know if it was my first exposure but it was a taste of the weird genre that I love now, and I can't post about the game if I don't mention the ball.
Got at the end of the game 1 fucking point short to open the red herring of the game, the thing that promised some explanations, or at least more of this enthralling story.
To this day I still have to replay the game, and I still know I have to open the ball. Yeah, one could say I liked Planescape.

JRPG is more difficult. FF6 is generally my top spot but maybe I have been more enthralled by others ? Xenogears at times is certainly there. As the game advance it goes to such fascinating themes. Hours upon hours into the game it keeps adding characters and and plot lines. Memory is very hazy, I think there was a new character and he was hunting zombies (?) on a boat or a train or a spaceship, but there was this religious theme in the background. Really hazy, sorry. And there is Persona 3 too. Maybe a little bit more in line with anime tropes, but the game was so good in my mind that I couldn't finish any other of its two sequels. Persona 4 leave the feeling that it's more of the same, and P5 has evolved to nearly full blown visual novel with gameplay, sometimes.

Oh, I know. on the JRPG side I have to choose Shadow Hearts 2. You evidently should play 1 preferably in order to have maximum impact, and I even played Koudelka before that one (very unnecessary if I recall correctly). Crazy journey with endearing protagonists, lots of interesting side characters, and this ending. The closure of the studio following the utter failure that was 3 is such a waste.