Can someone please explain RPG games to me
Im serious. I bought Xenosaga 1,2,& 3 and I finally popped in part one and I really dont have a clue about whats going on. Im talking about the actual game play where you have to go through s long sequence for every attack. You cant just go up and swing a sward or shoot. I have never played this type of game and I want to understand them better. I also tried Valkyrie Profile for PlayStation and PSP.
Their are different type of RPG's. There are Action-RPG's, Turn-Based RPG's. and Strategy RPG's..then ones that mix in different types of play...there isn't much to understand. Most of your classic RPG's are all turn-based. Xenosaga...is a unique RPG...I didn't care for it myself, it was like a space soap opera. Xenogears is the precurser which came out for PS1...highly recommend it as it is really nothing like Xenosaga.
Again, not all games play the same way...once you understand that..then your ok..if all you want to do is run around, shoot things and hack things up..then RPG's generally probably aren't for you..unless you give action RPG's a try. Even still something unique to RPG's is the storyline , so you are always going to be involved in reading or listening to a lot of dialogue and following a story closely.
Currently attempting to complete my Genesis collection! Always looking for hard to find complete games! Send me a PM
Please feel free to follow my collecting blog here! http://genesaturn.blogspot.com/
Role-Playing Game games?
I felt the same way the first time I tried a turn-based RPG. However, I also got used to the idea pretty quickly and would grow to prefer turn-based RPGs. Even though that time has come and gone, there are still a few I like to go back to.
-Final Fantasy V, VI, VII, VIII
-Albert Odyssey
-Panzer Dragoon Saga
-Phantasy Star IV: The end of the millenium
Nowadays I prefer either Western RPGS (Mass Effect series), and action RPGs (Link to the Past). It depends on the style of play you're looking for. If you don't have the patience for turn-based combat and a massive developing plot, then this genre might not be for you. Give a chance with a decent game though. Download FFVII from PSN if you can.
What type is the original LoZ considered? Because as far as I can remember, thats the only RPG I've ever liked.
The main difference is that RPGs are about stats. I haven't played Xenosaga, but if it's in any way normal you are trying to raise the stats of the levels of your characters by winning fights. Try to buy the best armor and weapons you can afford, and buy any items you need when venturing far from town, like healing potions. You need to win a lot of easy battles first so that your characters go up a few levels. Then you can go farther away from the start and fight harder enemies, or be strong enough to beat the first dungeon you have to go in.
You will get more experience points the more monsters you fight, which means your overall attack power and health is stronger (your max hit points will be higher but you need to rest at an inn or heal up some other way to show it). Staying at an inn will also heal up your magic points, or as Xenosaga appears to have it, "ether" points. Overall your characters become stronger over time and the harder monsters you fight will give you more experience points, meaning there comes a point where it's no longer fruitful to fight weak enemies.
Xenosaga series may be an elaboration on the basic RPG ideas, so it could be confusing to newcomers. Try Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2, or an older game like Final Fantasy II on the SNES, if you want something easier to get into, more classic.
That's an action-RPG. Other action-rpgs include Ys, Diablo, Soul Blazer, the Mana series, Landstalker, Dark Souls, Mass Effect, Cadash, Kingdom Hearts, Odin Sphere, Crystalis, Faxanadu, Dungeons of Daggorath, and others. The difference being that dexterity is involved as much as stats, and a good player can actually beat the game with low stats, as some people can beat Demon's Souls without leveling up.Originally Posted by fluid_matrix
But you're locked in the stats in a traditional RPG (Dungeons and Dragons, Wizardry), and dexterity isn't an element.
Some people say Zelda is not an RPG because it doesn't involve stats, but is rather an adventure game.
Last edited by stalepie; 04-22-2012 at 12:16 PM.
It is not an Action-RPG, or an RPG of any manner. It is an Action Adventure.
Be Attitude For Gains...
It's an action-adventure game, just like all Zelda games except Zelda II(and the CDi games). If there's no stats to build up it's not an RPG. Zelda II is an action-RPG.
As far as I can tell Xenosaga is unrelated to Xenogears, it just follows the same style and direction as Xenogears as it was made by most of the same people. It's not a sequel or a prequel series.
This helps a lot. I didnt want to just shoot, I wanted to understand so I can have a start on what I was doing. Ok, another question, what is the reasoning behind the conversations and menu selections before each attack?
For one thing, you might want to start with classics, like the first Dragon Warrior trilogy or the first seven Final Fantasy games, maybe Chrono Trigger and Earthbound if you can score them (as every one of those games except Earthbound have been ported to damn near every console under the sun, that shouldn't be too hard). Modern RPGs tend to give you WAY too much to keep up with.
But basically, what you got to understand is that RPGs aren't (normally) about blazing fast reflexes and adrenaline rushes. They're usually more akin to strategy games. You just give characters a command from a menu and they do it. The challenge is in trying to best strategize your attacks so that the enemy takes more damage than you do (and hopefully, dies before you do). And then there's stat-grinding RPGs where the whole thrill is admiring how strong your characters get through constant battle and getting better equipment. I've never played Xenosaga or Valkyrie Profile so I'm not sure what camp they fall into, but most RPGs will be one or those two.
Xenosaga is not a very good start if you're new to RPGs.
Yeah agreed. If new to RPG's. For Novice I suggest The Last Story,Grandia/Grandia II,Skies of Arcadia,Ys series. I would even say the remakes of Final Fantasy 1-4 on PSP also a good start. Xenosaga is for people who know the genre very well. Also to those wondering no. Xenogears is unrelated. Monolith just likes the name really. Xenoblade?
Personally I think it's the best Genre.
I'd suggest starting at a classic RPG first. You don't really want to start with something too good and then anything that's worse kills any fun you may have of them. If you were to start with games like Grandia, Xenogears, Wild ARMs, Final Fantasy, etc, you might just not want to put the time into playing anything that isn't as good.
I'd say the best game to really start out as an RPG would be the original Dragon Warrior. It's a pretty unremarkable game really, but it's got great music, nice world, and an overall good game if you've actually never really gotten into the genre. So let Dragon Warrior be your benchmark. If the game is worse than Dragon Warrior, don't bother. If it's better, then it's atleast decent.
Also, play Final Fantasy 3 or 3 DS before any of the others. You'll want to get that piece of garbage out of the way before you get into the better games or you might not ever go back to it.
RRoD 4 Life!
It took me a few hours but I finally got it. I remembered exactly what I want to recommend. Something not difficult to drive you insane, with great BGM, highly entertaining and humorous characters with a nice story, nice visuals, easy to grasp gameplay... pretty much all you want to have. Lunar and Lunar 2 for Saturn. I still have a lot of Saturn games to play but Lunar 2 is gonna remain high on my list of loved titles.
Playstation, not Saturn. The Saturn versions are Japan-only... unless you know something I don't?It took me a few hours but I finally got it. I remembered exactly what I want to recommend. Something not difficult to drive you insane, with great BGM, highly entertaining and humorous characters with a nice story, nice visuals, easy to grasp gameplay... pretty much all you want to have. Lunar and Lunar 2 for Saturn. I still have a lot of Saturn games to play but Lunar 2 is gonna remain high on my list of loved titles.
Playing Xenosaga to get into RPGs would be like deciding you have a slight interest in theater and then going to a 5 hour german opera for your first show.
Honestly, Final Fantasy III (VI) was my first RPG, and I struggled to get into it. Suikoden was the first RPG I felt comfortable with and played all the way through. Very simple game (paperwork management wise) and under 20 hours long, but still fun, with a great plot and music.
I also agree with Lunar, and the PSP version is fun too.
Last edited by SpaceHarrier; 04-23-2012 at 03:28 AM.
Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest are about the best two beginner RPGs I can nominate. Both for SNES and both very easy to learn, even for someone new to the genre.
WTB Clayfighter Sculptor's Cut Manual Only... PM ME!!
No. Fuck the PS version.
My Japanese Saturn smiles at you.
Last edited by FoxNtd; 04-23-2012 at 11:51 AM.
Just play Xenogears and forget Xenosaga. This coming from a devout Xenogears fan. Just read what the creator of both games has to say:
On the connection between Xenogears and Xenosaga, Takahashi has stated:
It's probably more suitable to say that it follows the direction and style of Xenogears. […] Now that we are under a different company, we figured we should start everything from scratch all over again. Though there are familiar faces that serve as important characters in Xenosaga, others are more like self-parodies, so we don't really want Xenogears fans to overreact. Like movies, sometimes you have the director of the movie or friend of the leading actor appearing as cameos, so it's similar to that.[6]
-in other words, your just gonna waste 999+ hours of your life just to get a cameo of Fei and Elly's original bodies. In my opinion it's not worth it. Just play Xenogears and wait for a real sequel/prequel. Believe me, there will BE one! Just wait...
I assumed he meant the Sega CD, but I guess not. A friend of mine used to call the Sega CD a Saturn for some reason, he forgot the name of it as he didn't play it too often anymore. He told me he had a Saturn, but then described having games like Fahrenheit. After asking for more of a description he said it plugged into the side of a Genesis, so I knew what he was really talking about. Apparently his dad bought the Genesis at launch and later bought the Sega CD at launch or shortly after it came out, he remembered playing it but wasn't into games anymore.
While we're on the topic of RPGs, you all might want to give this guys comments a look through:
https://twitter.com/#!/Taxonomic
He came up during the weekly Backloggery chat as a guy who seems to view long ass RPGs with hard grinds as being for the elite.
A decent, simple, modern alternative would be Breath of Death VII: The Beginning.
Huh? What the heck kind of logic is that? If someone is introduced to a genre with a bad game, then it'll probably scare them off the genre, never wanting to give it another try. I would venture to guess that 99% of the time that somebody gets into a genre new to them is because they play a game they really loved and then pursue the genre further to find another that they'll like just as much. Even if you stumble across some so-so ones along the way, the drive to find more great ones remains.
And if those games are so bad, why the heck does someone need to get them "out of the way" or worry that they "might not ever go back to it"? Why can't you just skip them permanently? Who's holding a gun to your head forcing you to play every Final Fantasy?
Personally, the first RPG I seriously played beginning to end (as opposed to just dabbling in Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy and the like) was Chrono Trigger, and it's still one of my very favorites. I certainly don't expect every RPG to be that good, and it doesn't kill my enjoyment of lesser RPGs because ridiculous, pointless thoughts like "Well, it's not as good as Chrono Trigger..." never pop into my head. I simply assess each game on its own.
Anyway, Xenosaga isn't a good start to the genre, as has been said, and Valkyrie Profile is even worse yet. (Valkyrie Profile is one of my very favorites, but it's basically an RPG for gamers who already love RPGs and want something innovative and complex.) Final Fantasy games are designed to attract the most mainstream audience possible (that is, it gets bought by more people who don't consider themselves big RPG fans than any other Japanese role-playing game/series), so it's not a bad place to start. The older ones will give you a pretty good idea of the stereotypical traditional RPG. If you want something even more quintessential for the genre, go with a Dragon Warrior/Quest, if you're up for a slow-paced, challenging RPG. But I'm not super crazy about those two series myself, so if you want my personal recommendations, I'd say Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, or a Star Ocean. Star Ocean may be a little overwhelmingly complex, but I think you'd appreciate the real-time action of its battle system. I recommend Star Ocean: The Second Story. Just be prepared for a long intro that you'll have to wade through.
I was waiting for a chance to post this.
Anyway, I second the suggestion for Paper Mario. Its descendants, the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games, are also excellent choices.
"There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." --Bertrand Russel (attributed)
Conversations? You mean like the dialog in-game between characters outside of a battle or during battle? I haven't played any of the Xenosaga games but if your getting in-game dialog during a battle this early on then its probably a pesudo-tutorial explaining the very things your asking about here. If not then its just dialog between characters..which is an integral part of the JRPG experience and probably something you shouldn't skip over.
I'm assuming that Xenosaga uses a turn based type battle system and if so those menu selections determine what your character does during battle. Looking on youtube it seems like a pretty standard battle setup, so again just select what you want your character to do and they will do it, seems fairly simple at first glance.
JRPGs are for the most part about leading you through a story with game play mostly comprising of inventory management, leveling progression, and whatever battle system that particular game uses. Its more about watching a story with distinct characters unfold then button mashing action (for the most part) like most game genera so it that appeals to you push on. I'm told however that the Xenosaga series is not a very noob friendly game so I would suggest you try either Chrono Trigger or Star Ocean: The Second Story if you get burned on Xenosaga. Chrono Trigger is widely regarded as the best classic JRPG and is very friendly to new players of the genera with a basic plot and simple battle system and Star Ocean: The Second Story is a deeper game by far but has a much faster and more action oriented battle system then most JRPGs.
Edit: That breakdown Jorpho...is just awesome.
Last edited by substantial_snake; 04-24-2012 at 05:38 AM.
I know the difference between Mega CD and SS.
Oh, I also agree with the recommendation of Chrono Trigger. I played it lately and I had completely forgotten how quickly it progresses and for the most part it does not make you struggle with difficulty anywhere. Mario RPG is also a good recommendation. Star Ocean is good but I wonder if real-time combat can be overwhelming at first?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks