Turned-Vased RPGs?

[Hawki]

Two words: Fire Emblem.

[KaiserStratosTygo]

Personally, I like my Vases upside down.

[TheEconomist]

So what game did you go with?

As for me, about to pick up an in-progress play through of Dragon Quest VIII (100+ hours) and Chrono Cross (30+ hours).

[Hawki]

Wait, I thought this was grid-based, not turn based?

Well, I can add another two words - Golden Sun. Oh, and Final Fantasy X I guess, but it's the only FF I've played. Enjoyed it thoroughly, but it definitely has its flaws.

Admittedly though, I'm not the best person to ask. My first RPG was Quest 64, and I barely understood the concept of levelling at the time. GS was my first real intro into the genre, at least in turn-based (I was playing the ARPG version of The Two Towers at the same time.

[TheEconomist]

Oh, and Final Fantasy X I guess, but it's the only FF I've played. Enjoyed it thoroughly, but it definitely has its flaws.

Go play Final Fantasy VII. Now.

[Hawki]

Go play Final Fantasy VII. Now.

Heh. Don't worry, I hope to do so one day. It's like Doom, another game I feel I should at least be able to say I played.

Any other thoughts on the other FF titles? When people give their best it's usually 6, 7, or 9 I find, with 13 being...controversial, but otherwise it's quite varied.

[TheEconomist]

13 doesn't exist. Whatchu talkin' 'bout? But 6 through 9, all of them, are classics. Start with 7 though. It must be done. If you die without playing it, you can't say you've lived (half-serious).

In all seriousness, they are classic, great games. Some of the greatest of all time. However, you've missed the time for the full effect. You won't be blown away like everyone else. I replay through them from time to time and laugh at many, many things about them but they hold a special place in my memory and history. So, keep your expectations in check and you'll be in for a treat.

[Hawki]

But 6 through 9, all of them, are classics.

Isn't 8 a bit of a black sheep though?

Anyway, don't suppose any of you have any experience with the Phantasy Star series. I have the GBA collection on my "to get" list, but given how rare and expensive it is, I'm tempted to just get the first through the Virtual Shop, despite this usually being a last resort for me.

[TheEconomist]

Phantasy Star IV is probably my favorite JRPG and I've played it a hundred times, even the damn near impossible hacks. Phantasy Star II is a beast though, and I'm not sure it can be recommended to someone who isn't exceptionally patient and experienced with JRPGs. PS1 is alright though. Technically the first JRPG of its kind, so its dated, but far beyond what other companies were doing at the time. PS3 is the black sheep. It did Chrono Cross/Chrono Trigger type branching before these two games did. Still an alright game though.

However, DO NOT GET THE GBA COLLECTION. For one, it's for the GBA and that's stupid. If you want mobility, emulate it on a phone. For two, it doesn't have Phantasy Star IV and that's the best one and probably the only one that will actually appear to a modern gamer. For three, there's better disc versions on just about every other platform. Get the Phantasy Star Collection for PS2 or the Sega Genesis Collection for just about any system. I recommend the Sega Genesis Collection because, even though it doesn't have PS1, it has like 30 other Genesis classics and how can you turn that down. There's also a ton of other collections that you can look into as well. There's even been some work on translating the Japanese-only remakes.

Phantasy Star also has one of the most dedicated fan communities I've ever seen in the genre, and that's saying a lot. It has some of the best fan fiction and fan games of anything I've ever seen and I used to be heavy into these things. As a fan fiction writer, you need to eventually play them and join in on it. You'll get a lot of attention. Although, you need to do FF7 before that since video game fan fiction basically begins and ends with Final Fantasy VII (for some reason .....)

Isn't 8 a bit of a black sheep though?

It is. The story was a bit emo, and the game play is the incarnation of broken, godmodeness if you know how to play it. I doubt you will, especially one your first try, so it'll only be easy-medium difficulty for you. However, everything else is great. That's why I said all of them. Bickering within the Final Fantasy community tends to give the wrong impression about 8. It's a great game but was very controversial for its time. Especially since the ones mostly to talk about it are the GameFAQ frequenter types who know all of the little broken things about that make the game a joke. I played the game before I knew these things and my experience was greatly improved. When I found out about them, they were fun little diversions kind of like glitches that are still fun even if not difficult.

I'm assuming, of course, that you are not a classic JRPG fan since you don't appear to have played many, and those require a certain kind of person to enjoy to this day.

[Hawki]

Final Fantasy

It is. The story was a bit emo, and the game play is the incarnation of broken, godmodeness if you know how to play it.

Heh, got that impression from various users. Though to be fair, I've seen the "black sheep" label just as often applied to FF9 as well.

Although, you need to do FF7 before that since video game fan fiction basically begins and ends with Final Fantasy VII (for some reason .....)

https://www.fanfiction.net/game/Final-Fantasy-VII/

You have no idea...

Anyway, the fanfic angle is a moot point, since I group FF material under the one section on my homepage. FF10's mostly got me covered for that.

Phantasy Star

Looked around a bit. All things considered, I'll probably resort to getting PS1 on the Virtual Console, then getting the Genesis Collection if I decide to get the sequels. Don't count on hearing much from me on that front for awhile though - time constraints, game backlog, etc.

Phantasy Star also has one of the most dedicated fan communities I've ever seen in the genre

Well, they certainly seem united in wanting a Western release of PSO2, I'll give them that.