RPG that you could replay over and over again?

[dario8676]

There have been many rpg's that have blown people away in terms of visuals, gameplay or story. For all of us however, there is always that one rpg that doesn't necessarily have to blow you away in all three of those categories, but still seems to stick in your head throughout your life as one of the best games you have ever played and you could never get enough of it. For me it's a really tough choice as there were so many games that left a lasting impression on me. I guess if i had to pick one definitive game, i would probably go with Shining Force 2. Now i realize this game wasn't exactly everyone's favorite game, but for me it a game that i can keep playing over and over again and still enjoy it. The tactical battle engine is what definately made this game for me.

How about you guys? What game sticks in your head as a great rpg that you could still to this day play again?

 

[Juno]

Both Fallout games, for me (Fallout I and II... never played Tactics).  The post-apocalyptic scenario was completely absorbing, and everything had a gritty feel to it that made it so surreal.  It was the sort of game where you played it and thought, "Wow, what if?  This could have actually happened."  I also loved the pre-war 1930's stylization of all the menus.

Now I just have to build a new computer so I can play Fallout 3.

 

[tyranius]

Diablo 2, Tales of the Abyss and kingdom hearts. I cant stop playing them

 

[hima]

Megaten series. All of them.

 

[Perihelion]

I'd agree that the Fallout games are fantastic; the battle system is very fluid and completely makes one-character tactical battles work, and the flexibility is cool (although there are some unfortunate balance issues--there's one character build that's vastly superior to all others, imo), but what really makes the games stand out for me is the writing. It's hilarious and occasionally disturbing and I could go on for years about how great it is, but I wrote a review of it if you're interested in my opinion (although in retrospect I really should've mentioned balance issues and stuff, but oh well, maybe I'll edit it sometime).

However, the game with the most replay value I've ever played is NetHack, which has about a paragraph of story and ASCII graphics but fantastic gameplay. It has good randomized dungeons, a bunch of classes with different difficulty curves, optional conducts if the game is too easy for you (highly unlikely), is insanely difficult and still manages to be really fun (this is hard to do), and is open-source. Which is awesome. I also wrote a review of it, although it was back when I first started playing and wasn't aware of a few smallish issues (e.g. endgame being samey for most roles, most artifact weapons being useless, etc.). Still, fantastic game. It took over my life for months; I've probably played over 4-500 games of it, although some were longer than others, haha. I still want to ascend a pacifist, but it's annoying because you tend to accidentally run into things and kill them in one hit, so blech.

As far as standard JRPGs go, Star Ocean 2 is one of my favorites. The gameplay is action-oriented and really fun, and it also has great atmosphere (pretty pre-rendered backgrounds and excellent music).

 

[Juno]

Wow, someone knows NetHack!  I didn't play that particular game much, but I played one of its predecessors (or maybe successors): "Rogue".  All ASCII graphics, all randomized dungeons, you just walked into an enemy to attack.  It was gaming at its purest.  It was so fun, I made my own lesser version in high school using C++.

 

[dario8676]

That's interesting because i've always wanted to play the fallout series but never actually tried it. Maybe i'll give it a shot one of these days.

 

[Rey_JJJ]

I'd like to say Golden Sun... but I'm not perfectly sure it'd fit the bill. More like FF8, but I've yet to beat that yet... :box: SSB isn't an RPG... um... there must be something... :pissed: :crazy: aaargh... RPG... sorry, but for me, when it comes to RPGs, I play them once, it's the best thing in the world, then once I beat them I can never feel the same again. Same goes for stuff like Zelda13: Twilight... :down: but if there's an RPG something I can always come back to, it's Maker. :lol:

 

[Mazoku]

Baldurs Gate
Baldurs Gate 2
Final Fantasy 7
Legend of Dragoon

Good stuff. And I'm prepared to defend Legend of Dragoon if I must. Freaking loved that game.

 

[Rey_JJJ]

But are you ready to defend FF7 is the question? (P.S. Don't take anything I say about FF7 too seriously as I've never played it except for the strategy segment of it, which was pretty cool, I suppose...)

 

[Crystalgate]

Kingdom Hearts and Seiken Densetsu 3. I have played both games at least ten times. Unfortunately, I have lost the will to play more Seiken Densetsu 3. I'm quite sure I'll play more Kingdom Hearts however, although probably not this week.

 

[p-hop]

The Diablo Series and Nethack type games are very similar. Randomized dungeons, high chance of death, and one man vs. a hoard of enemies. That game mechanic always draws me back, no matter how long I've been playing or how many times I've died. It's not really that the game is deep and I want to play it again. I just want to kick monster rear-end and get awesome loot. I'd consider it more of an addiction than a genuine love of the game.

Earthbound, however, is a game that I'd play over and over. It doesn't change when you play through it. Everything always turns out the same. And yet, there's something about it... I just enjoy the quirky sense of humor that permeates every little piece of the game.

 

[Sarkilas]

Legend of Dragoon

It's not really that bad. I played through it twice, and it's actually pretty fun. Only annoying thing is how you have to wait so god damn long to enter battle and exit battle.

Anyway, personally I've played every single Zelda game, and I can't stop replaying most of them, especially N64 versions and up. It's just my type of game. Real time, control one character and follow amazing stories. I've played through Tales of Symphonia buttloads of times. It's a very entertaining game, and I'm a fan of the graphics style. Other than that, there isn't too many RPGs that I would play again constantly and still get replay fun.

 

[candle]

Chrono Trigger (I own bot the snes and psx versions, and plan to get the ds one once it comes out)
Final Fantasy VI (I only have the psx version)
Seiken Densetsu 3 (translated rom, but still very awesome.
Harvest Moon SNES (not an RPG, but...)

 

[Twirly]

Final Fantasy 7
For me that would be Golden Sun/ The Lost Age.

 

[Venetia]

I'm impressed the Chrono series wasn't mentioned more. Since they had New Game +, and were DESIGNED to be played over and over . Actually, they are the only RPG's I've ever replayed outside Morrowind/Oblivion.

--No, wait, I replayed FFIII (VI) twice. Once when I was a kid and once recently. But unless it has New Game + or crazy cheats to act like I won New Game +, I don;t get much incentive to play something over. Starting the same story out all over again as a level 1 is pretty terrible to me.

 

[e]

Pretty much the Chrono Series. And I did replay FF III (VI) a couple of times too, though now it seems like too much effort/time wasted.

On more recent games though...not much. I dunno. Lacks a certain magic, I guess; or maybe I'm just all grown up. All grown up, alone and disillusioned. I...I'm dead inside ;-;

 

[arcthemonkey]

Chrono Trigger, Xenogears (I think I've played it start to finish at least 10 times), Earthbound, Secret of Mana, and Breath of Fire 3.

Oh, also, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

 

[Twirly]

Oh god how did I forget my favourite RPG Chrono Trigger?! The game really was AWESOME!!
I THINK I COULD PLAY THAT ONE MILLION TIMES :thumb:

 

[FlippyD]

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines

The ONLY RPG I'll consistently go back to. I don't usually replay games, if ever. In fact, the only two games I can go back to playing an infinite number of times is VtM:B and the guitar hero games... And Parappa the Rapper... And Elite Beat Agents... And Um Jammer Lammy... Well, any music/rhythm game I can play over and over, but VtM:B is the only RPG. I can't imagine slogging through one of those JRPGs more than once. I do replay Earthbound, Skies of Arcadia, SD3 and Chrono Trigger over and over again, but I can't stomach the whole way through, and I usually have to be in the mood and have no other new games to play.