All right. I figure you guys are either going to be really cool about this or maybe this is where I blow my cover, and you see me as an impostor and lock me in a vat of rot grubs. I'm a lifelong player (and DM) of AD&D. I've never played an electronic RPG. Not one. Or really many electronic games, save for old arcade games, Tekken, and, perhaps strangely, the PS3 Move game, The Fight. Oh, okay, I confess - and I've embarrassed myself, playing Just Dance with my wife and daughter. Put away the knives, please. So this is probably the opposite of normal progression, but my obsession with LitRPG has made me really curious about electronic RPGs. I can't play first-person type stuff because it gives me motion sickness. I have a PC and a PS3, and I know that there are online games / streaming services. Any suggestions? Warnings? I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks!
I’d start with working your way through the entire Final Fantasy core numbered games (including X-2 and the XIII trilogy but skipping XI and XIV since they’re MMOs). Then tackle NieR Gestalt for a taste of action RPGs before diving full tilt into the genre with the Bioware catalogue - yes, including DA2 and ME:A. Then once you’re done with those, play Witcher 2 and 3. Witcher 1 has an AMAZING story, but the gameplay was such garbage that it made the game practically unplayable. It’s safely skippable (as is Witcher 2 since 3 has such an excellent character encyclopedia, but it’s a good game on its own merits and worth playing). Witcher 3 alone will likely take more time than the entire FF franchise from start to finish, especially if you go for all of the endings. You can play the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games in third person, but those are less RPG and more “create your own story” sandbox games. Still, New Vegas is the best of a bad lot.
Before you do keep in mind that RPG games were made to give you value for money. On average it takes 60-80 hours of gameplay per game... not counting achievements or side quests. It's easy to sink in 100+ hours into just one save for any of these. Final Fantasy is a good intro to the genre. Nine is my favorite and is currently on steam. Ten is on there too but the re-mastered version isn't as good as the original. I'm not sure if the suikoden series was on the PS3 but those are amazing! Bauldur's gate is a classic, in fact most Litrpg books feel like they came straight out of game one and two (two is better) Witcher 3 is one of my brother's favorites. Great story and beautiful graphics. Chrono trigger is another classic though I own the ds version. Not sure if it was ported. One wild card I'd throw into the mix is Undertales. This one is pretty short (maybe 6 hours tops?) and has all of the classic RPG elements but is a very unique game. I'd highly recommend it if you want to play something familiar (for an RPG fan) yet very different. Also it's only $10 on steam yet will leave a lasting impression. I'm not a big fallout fan but @CheshirePhoenix is correct, vegas and fallout 3 are the best of the lot... just too much mud brown graphics for my taste.
Thanks, CheshirePhoenix! This is fantastic. Really. I've heard of most of these and will likely start with FF, thanks to your suggestion. After I fall into the games, become omnipotent, and return to Earth to wreak havoc, I'll spare you for this kindness.
Thanks so much, Kidlike! I twitched a little at your mention of the hours-per-game estimates. While I'm happy to know that there's so much value, I can't imagine finding the time... which is a big reason why I've never dipped my toe in the video game pool. This is a great help. I would like to start with Balder's Gate, but from my admittedly slim research, it sounds like a pain in the ass to make work on a modern computer. I read about Undertales. It sounds fun and kind of old-timey, which is a plus. It might make for a fun thing to try between the other games. Thanks!
Nah I got baulder's gate when it was available on steam. It works just fine. I would NOT recommend starting with that one unless you're on summer break or something. It'll take over ^^; Shame that they didn't update it to include a controller. It's all mouse and keyboard like it originally was in the 90's I would say Final Fantasy is good gate way drug. Undertales has a free demo so you can try before you buy (I totally recommend it!) and now that I'm an adult I just don't have the time or patience for the long grind so shorter games that compact all good things about an RPG in less then 10 hours is a huge plus for me. Oh forgot to add Dragon Quest to the playlist (I think the later ones are on PS3). All of the job tree classifications you see in Litrpg came from that game.
Chrono Trigger has been ported to damn near everything, and if you can find it one of the PS1 discs you’ll get by collecting the FF series is actually Chrono Trigger. I think it got bundled with FF V? And as far as RPGs go, FF and DQ are generally pretty short. That’s why I recommended starting with those. I’d beg to differ with the time estimates though - most modern RPGs can be done start to finish in around 30-40 hours at the most. It’s the open world monstrosities that add all of the filler and side quests ever (looking at you, Bugthesda) in an effort to increase “content” at the cost of “unique and enjoyable varied things to do”. You can check out the average time investment to expect going in to a new game at http://www.howlongtobeat.com - it even breaks it down into categories for you. That said, I’ve got 1200+ (yes, over one thousand and two hundred) hours on Witcher 3, across five playthroughs, and I STILL haven’t even touched the DLC. Hell, I can’t even bring myself to purposefully get the “bad” ending. I may be a little bit emotionally invested in the characters of W3... As for Baldur’s Gate, there’s a remastered edition on Steam and GoG that’s been updated to work on modern hardware, called the Enhanced Edition.
If you don't have a lot of time, check out some Roguelikes... https://litrpgreads.com/blog/history-roguelikes
My favorite game for a while now has been this rather old one called Dungeon Keeper - you basically are the evil overlord who has to build a dungeon, fill it with traps, organize your monsters and keep them trained and entertained, and slaughter the good guys who invade. It's probably why I like the dungeon core sub-sub-genre so much.
Bear in mind that there's a whole spectrum of gaming styles involved in eRPGs. At one extreme are the 'action RPGs' which involve a lot of real-time, button mashing combat. At the other are those with turn based combat, once common but now less so. In the middle are things like Fallout which have some form of pause mechanism. Your preferred gaming style is likely to be at least as important as the game genre in finding something that works for you.
"Gateway Drug" ... ha ha ha. Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. And for some reason, my gut is pushing me toward Badlur's Gate.
Thanks for the time estimates. As a guy pounding out his first Gamelit series and the father of a 20-month-old, the numbers (even on the low end) scare me, because I know that I'll get sucked in. Sort of thrilled and terrified at the same moment.
I loved your article on these Roguelikes. I hadn't heard of them and their cool, old-timey vibe (and quickness) appeal to me.
Excellent... love the idea of being an evil overlord and slaughtering good guys with hand-picked traps and monsters!
Cool. Thanks. Makes a lot of sense. And since I don't know what my gaming style will be, that tells me that I should buy one game at a time before over-committing to a single style.
That’s why I gave you suggestions along the spectrum. There’s also sRPGs (ranging from Final Fantasy Tactics to the new Xcom games), hybrid games like the Tales franchise (also highly recommended) and Valkyrie Profile (Valkyrie Profile 2 is the best of the series, if you can find it anywhere. Seriously, it’s like the game doesn’t exist). And the oddball Rhythm RPG, Ar Tonelico (Qoga is the one I played, hybrid rhythm game slash dating sim). If you truly want a sampler though, NieR Gestalt does it all. It’s an action RPG cum isometric horror cum top down/third person bullet hell game cum collectathon, that even has a text based adventure game segment. About the only thing it lacks is a rhythm game (for that you look to the Drakengard franchise, which spawned NieR, specifically 1 and 3, where the final boss fight is literally a rhythm mini game) and a turn based segment. Genre highlights by mechanics: FFX, for turn based ATB done right. NieR Automata, for fluid action RPG and metric asstons of endings (26 of them. Not even exaggerating in the slightest - there are apparently four or five that are “serious” though, rather than game overs). Final Fantasy Tactics, for the most in depth strategy I’ve seen in the genre. Witcher 3, for the best, most atmospheric, detailed, and “living” open world. It’s also my personal favorite game of ... ever ... because it gives you the greatest amount of agency while still telling a coherent story full of rich, fully realized and memorable characters. Neverwinter Nights Diamond Edition, for the best isometric hybrid turn-based/hotbar RPG (I actually used to review player-created modules for NWN, back in the day). Bravely Default, for the best non-ATB turn based jRPG. Final Fantasy 7, for the best plot holes you could launch and land super jumbo jets through. Half Minute Hero, for the best time-limited game (each level has a 30 second time limit) that isn’t a mobile game Wizardry, for the best oh-shit-there’s-no-map-wtf insert your own story dungeon crawler Skyrim, for the “this has literally been ported to or rereleased on everything but a toaster and that’s probably even in the works” convenience of platform choice. WoW for the best hotbar MMO Neverwinter for the best player-driven action MMO FFXIV for the best story-based MMO Other than taking the piss out of Skyrim and FF7 (come at me bro), these are what I would consider the best games in each genre based solely on mechanics or gimmicks. If you can only play one of these, play Witcher 3. It’s the ur example of what it means to actually play a role in a role playing game. Just be warned, it’s such a brilliant game that you will lose significant portions of your life to it. Each act (there are four acts) is better than most full AAA games, and every side quest feels like it could be a main quest in another game. You will fall in love with all of the characters, and in lust with not a few of them. You will have sex on the back of a stuffed unicorn, or you won’t. You might even end up rescuing a princess for a fallen fortune teller. It’ll likely convince you to pick up the books by Andrzej Sapkowski to read them, and the other two games in the franchise as well.
Three things... First of all, THANKS! This is incredible. What a breakdown. I've pasted this thread into a Word doc and will return to it as I explore games. I can tell that you've given me enough specific information about each game to expedite that exploration once I start to understand the different game varieties and my own gaming tastes. Really, really appreciate it! Secondly, your IQ must be off the frigging charts. That's based on more than just this thread. You read so much, know so much, and most of all, are able to break it all down so succinctly. That's cuckoo-bananas, man. My guess is that you're actually a rogue AI (bent on hobbling humanity), a visiting alien (bent on hobbling humanity), or a massive ant colony, the hive intelligence of which has recently gone nuclear (bent on hobbling humanity). Finally, THANKS AGAIN!
