By: RJ (@rga_02)
The 7th generation lived a long life. With the Wii, PS3, and 360 nearing the bargain bin, one could easily pick up one of those consoles up with a few RPGs and be entertained for hours on end. Here are five RPGs I think that people should check out if they haven’t already. (In no particular order)
Note this list does contain personal tidbits and experiences and is presented such as if we were talking in real life.
- Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland
- Developer - Gust
- Publisher - Tecmo Koei
- PlayStation 3 (also on PlayStation Vita)
- Rating - T
A few months ago I wrote how much I loved this game. My feelings for it still stand today. Atelier Rorona Plus is a great entry point to the Atelier series for those who are on the fence with this series. At first you might find the time management and the crafting system to be overwhelming but with revamped mechanics and improved missions compared to the original, this game will ease you into the gameplay mechanics that you’ll be soon humming along with Rorona as she crafts away.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution Directors Cut
- Developer - Eidos Montreal
- Publisher - Square Enix
- PlayStation 3 (also on Wii U, PC & Xbox 360)
- Rating - M
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is my love for films such as RoboCop and Blade Runner (I know someone is gonna hate me for using those two films as comparisons) with my love of the dark gritty neo-futuristic cyberpunk feel. It’s not only aesthetics of the game that I adore. It’s also the gameplay. There is just something so satisfying when you sneak up to your enemy and just beat him unconscious. Heck, the game even has my love for tinfoil conspiracy theories in check also! This game is perfect for anyone who loves cyberpunk and pseudo-intellectual stories.
- The Last Story
- Developer - Mistwalker/Marvelous
- Publisher - Nintendo/XSeed
- Wii
- Rating - T
People often cite that Xenoblade was the best RPG for the Wii. I beg to differ. While I will admit I have some bias towards Hironobu Sakaguchi, The Last Story isn’t littered with mindless archaic fetch quests that Xenoblade suffers. Plus is has a more beautiful soundtrack composed by the ever so talented Nobou Uematsu. At this point you are probably are thinking that the reason why I’m recommending this game is because of those two mentioned men and their connections to a favorite series of mine. But even disregarding the talent behind it, The Last Story brings a wonderful narrative that will hook you from beginning to end. With a kicking battle system to boot, this game is worth checking out.
- Tales of Xillia
- Developer - Namco Tales Studio
- Publisher - Bandai Namco Games
- PlayStation 3
- Rating - T
If it wasn't Tales of Symphonia, I can assure you that it would be Tales of Xillia would be the first Tales of game that a person experienced. Tales of Xillia wasn’t the first Tales of game I’ve played, but it was the first one that I’ve finished. It was probably due to Stockholm syndrome, but after seeing the same routes and ports over and over again that I grew to appreciate this game. Its soundtrack was unforgettable and its battle system gets button mashy at times, but it had a B-Tier charm to it. Something reminiscence of the PlayStation 1 & 2 days.
- Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
- Developer - Square Enix/Tri-Ace
- Publisher - Square Enix
- PlayStation 3 (Also on Xbox 360 & PC)
- Rating - T
As Jeremy Parish of USGamer states about this game
Lightning Returns gives the impression that no idea was considered too weird or ridiculous to be included, and that the developers refused to throw away a single concept that came up during planning sessions
That would be a perfect summary of Lightning Returns. A mix of every possible idea that they could think about incorporating into a RPG. The results range from lackluster to flat out wonderful and I enjoyed every single moment of it. The battle system was sublime (God Bless the folks at Tri-Ace) and is my favorite battle system found in a RPG to date. A mix of the CSB from Final Fantasy XIII/XIII-2 with the costume based ATB found in Final Fantasy X-2 it was a joy every time I found myself into battle. Not to mention it had one of the best OSTs in Final Fantasy composed by the likes Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Mitsuto Suzuki and Nobou Uematusu. There is more I could rave on about this game, but I’m saving that for a future review of the upcoming PC version.