The 'Other' RPG's

[Mahler]

ITT, we talk about all those 'other' RPGs that were overshadowed by larger titles like FF7 during Squaresoft's golden years (circa 1992-98 ).
Some titles that come to mind are Vagrant Story, Breath of Fire, Seiken Densetsu and Saga Frontier.

I'm currently trying to find a copy of Vagrant Story by doing the usual business of scouring my neighborhood games stores before dishing out the cash on ebay. I played it once when I rented it from blockbuster a while ago. At the time, I was in my 'play every game made by Squaresoft' phase. I remember it being rather good compared to the other crappy Squaresoft titles I had played around that time period (Bushido Blade comes to mind >_<) and I'd really like to play it through.

Saga Frontier I also played once through a rental and even though the stories of the different characters were poorly tied together (as per usual in most of the SaGa series) I really enjoyed the gameplay. Something about the awesome combo-centric complicated battle system appealed to me and I did like the visuals as well as some of the characters. It sure as hell isn't FF6, but it was fun to play.

[ARMCANNON]

I always felt like the Dragon Warrior series got swept under the rug, in America at least. Dragon Warrior 1,3 and 4 were some of my favorites ever.

I also enjoyed DQ 7 a lot, but I bought a used copy the disc was scratched at a point of like 25 hours of gameplay, and I was unable to find another copy.

[Ekkebus]

I've beaten Dragon Quests 1 and 8 and played a lot of 7. I really want to go back and revisit the series. I'd love to see a dometic release of DQ 5 and 6 in some capacity. DS?

Vagrant Story is an awesome piece of game though I believe it came out in the summer of 2000. I know a lot of people were turned off by its complexity but I embraced it and was obsessed with it. There is no doubt that the battle/weapon system was very complex but figuring it out was extremely rewarding. Not many games are so fun and addictive that they can make 8 hours blow by in the blink of an eye. I spent hours exploring the city for hidden chests while upgrading and tweaking my weapons. The game had great production values and a fantastic story to boot.

Suikoden I and II are also something of lost gems of that age. You can find my thoughts on Suikoden II neatly hung in the articles section

[ARMCANNON]

I highly reccomend DQ 4 if you're looking to go back on the series, I really think they hit the mark with that one.

[FPStanley]

Vandal Hearts I & II, soon to be remade on the DS, can't wait.

[Protoman]

ITT, we talk about all those 'other' RPGs that were overshadowed by larger titles like FF7 during Squaresoft's golden years (circa 1992-98 ).
Some titles that come to mind are Vagrant Story, Breath of Fire, Seiken Densetsu and Saga Frontier.

Seiken Densetsu is japanese for Secret of Mana if I am not mistaken right? That game was alot like Secret of Evermore which I think is much better in the rpg series of that time. I mean the idea of having a dog following you around killing stuff is just truely awesome. Some of the boss battles were pretty intense from what I remember. Back then the hydra for me was a pain in the ass to kill.

[Mahler]

Seiken Densetsu is japanese for Secret of Mana if I am not mistaken right? That game was alot like Secret of Evermore which I think is much better in the rpg series of that time. I mean the idea of having a dog following you around killing stuff is just truely awesome. Some of the boss battles were pretty intense from what I remember. Back then the hydra for me was a pain in the ass to kill.

Seiken Densetsu translates roughly to 'Holy Sword' or 'Legendary Sword' I believe. It is indeed called Secret of Mana in the U.S. I never got into that series though. The only one I played was Secret of Mana but I've been told that it's not the best in the series.
Fun Fact!: The 2 games released for gameboy in the US called Final Fantasy Legend were actually Seiken Densetsu titles, they were renamed because I guess they thought the American gamers would more easily recognize Final Fantasy.

[Reznor]

ITT, we talk about all those 'other' RPGs...

4chan?

Anyway, I would have to go with Fallout 1 and 2 (Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel sucked ass).

To quote a magazine ad for Fallout 1:

"A traditional RPG (Minus the Magic, Orcs, and other Faerie Crap)"

A DAMN good PC RPG that is in a Post-Apocolyptic setting. I can't wait for Fallout 3 myself.

[Grove]

Big time agreeance on certain points made so far, Breath of Fire great Series, Vagrant Story amazing, Saga Frontier gameplay is fun but the story definately leaves more to the imagination. I am pretty sure however, Sevret of Evermore was the USA Square trying to imitate Secret of Mana. I can't argue much I do own it, first Super Nintendo game I bought.

One of my favorite RPG's, well, more action adventure RPG would Alundra.
Great combination of gameplay, music, graphics and story.
Dreamwalker, gods, lizardmen and of course a twisted adventure.

Also a big fan of the Enix Gaia series (Soul Blader, Illusions of Gaia).
Old SNES game by the title of 7th Saga still haunts my dreams for getting very difficult, but remains a classic for me.

Not sure how many of those were overlooked, but still great nevertheless.

[Mahler]

Also a big fan of the Enix Gaia series (Soul Blader, Illusions of Gaia).
Old SNES game by the title of 7th Saga still haunts my dreams for getting very difficult, but remains a classic for me.

Not sure how many of those were overlooked, but still great nevertheless.

Funny you should mention that. Earlier I was playing the ROM for Terranigma, the Enix game that was supposedly the 'unofficial sequel' to Illusion of Gaia. It was never released in the U.S. only in Japan and Europe. It plays very similar to Illusion of Gaia and has semi-similar themes. The game that preceded Illusion of Gaia is called Soul Blazer, I believe. I've never played that one though. Regardless, I loved Illusion of Gaia, even though it was extremely linear and straightforward in most parts.

ITT, we talk about all those 'other' RPGs...

4chan?

Ya rly.

[quarky]

I wonder if I could even get rid of my copy of Saga Frontier...? I mean, it's not even worth the energy to take it out of the stack of games I've got. And it's a short stack.

What an annoying friggin game.

Dragon Warrior kicks arse tho. Definitely.

[liam]

seriously dude, soul blazer is the fucking fly shit, with Death toll gettin his ass swamped by the PHOENiX, from my sword. music was aight, it fit the game and if you ever got all 50 red jewels in ILUSION OF GAIA, you might recognize the first boss of soul blazer, that's right metal FUCKING mantis.

[Mahler]

I wonder if I could even get rid of my copy of Saga Frontier...? I mean, it's not even worth the energy to take it out of the stack of games I've got. And it's a short stack.

What an annoying friggin game.

Dude I'll buy it for like 15 bucks

[liam]

seriously dude, soul blazer is the fucking fly shit, with Death toll gettin his ass swamped by the PHOENiX, from my sword. music was aight, it fit the game and if you ever got all 50 red jewels in ILUSION OF GAIA, you might recognize the first boss of soul blazer, that's right metal FUCKING mantis.

[quarky]

I wonder if I could even get rid of my copy of Saga Frontier...? I mean, it's not even worth the energy to take it out of the stack of games I've got. And it's a short stack.

What an annoying friggin game.

Dude I'll buy it for like 15 bucks

Where do you live abouts? Upstate?