Can anyone recommend any rpgs that are lesser known but still have a good story and characters? I'm looking for something to tide me over till some new stuff drops.

Hmmmm... Random and obscure...

Well, it's not obscure, but if you're after something major, you can't go wrong with Morrowind. Provided you've got a fairly decent PC and you don't mind the hack and slash nature of the battles, nor the open ended exploring nature that it offers.

I would recommend Alundra too, if you like Zelda styley RPGs, and you haven't played it before. It had some unique ideas and offered a pretty deep moving storyline.

I get the feeling any of the other games I mention will be ones you've played already... Grandia, Wild Arms, Shining Force - the first in the series for each are pretty damn good. I think I mentioned Wild Arms and an element of the storyline to you once before. Or it may have been someone else... Brain freeze, my apologies...

Legend of Legaia for the Playstation one.
Great story, memorable characters, great strong music, and the best battle engine ever. You attack by pressing buttons on the d-pad. The graphics are kind of like ff7s. Short almost sd dude out of battle, tall normal shaped dudes in battle. The best part is when you equip things to people. You can see everything. Like if you equip a hairband you see it on the person! It kicks ass. Just don't get Legaia 2 for the PS2 because it sucks.

Valkyrie Profile

The game has a unique gameplay and plot and has a ton of characters. But what makes it really great is each character is devoloped, you don't just talk to them and they're in your party you have to play through their story.

Depends on which console you have. My recommendations are :

PS2 - Shadow Hearts, Legaia 2 - Duel Saga, Wild Arms 3.
PSX - Grandia, Wild Arms, Vandal Hearts 1 and 2, Suikoden 1 and 2, Koudelka, Lunar Silver Star Story, Lunar Eternal Blue.
Sega Dreamcast - Grandia 2, Record of Lodoss War, Silver.
Sega Saturn - Mystaria : Realms of Lore, Guardian Heroes.

Legend of Dragoon (PSOne)

Definately Grandia. It was a great game though not too popular. Also Front Mission 3, thouhg that is a stradegy rpg. Parasite eve series. Vanguard Bandits. Suikoden was also a great game with a cult following. A sleeper hit.

I was gonna suggest Earthbound but of course you've heard of that. It's still great though. If you want to go old school you can get the Lufia games as well. Maybe even Phantasy Star II, III, etc. while you're at it. You did say obscure didn't you?

Whoever said Legend of Dragoon was wrong. Whoever said Legend of Legaia was right. God damn, do I ever love Legaia.

I highly recommend Persona 1 and 2 on the PSX... <3

Originally posted by MogKnight
I highly recommend Persona 1 and 2 on the PSX... <3

Like 5 months ago, I managed to score both of them for 10 bucks. I was a pretty happy Mandi.

I didn't get into the first one so much, but I love the second one.

For the first one you really have to get into messing with the Tarot cards and the like to enjoy the game, since that's where all of it pretty much is.

For the second... you just have to enjoy good games. Persona 2 is awesome. Urara Serizawa was so awesome that I changed one of my character's last names to match hers.

I second EarthBound and Valkyrie Profile.

How about the Arc the Lad Collection ? That's actually a "strategy" RPG but it hasn't mentionned before.

And if you can find it, it will keep you busy for a looong time, seeing as it's a three-game epic.

oh hey , yeah, strat-rpgs.

Vanguard Bandits.


Also, although I can't really vouch much for the stories and characters since it's so simple, but I absolutely love Robotrek.

Originally posted by Evad D'Aragon
How about the Arc the Lad Collection ? That's actually a "strategy" RPG but it hasn't mentionned before.

And if you can find it, it will keep you busy for a looong time, seeing as it's a three-game epic.

I have the boxed set. Right down to the little controller covers. It's so frickin' beautiful.

Originally posted by Ndi


I have the boxed set. Right down to the little controller covers. It's so frickin' beautiful.

HA HA HA ! Yes , it is. But , look, the games are good, too ;) Which reminds me I've yet to beat the freakin' final boss from Twilight of the Spirits...:p

Another one that I recently picked up again was Vandal Hearts. Great turn based-strategy RPG.

Vagrant Story for PS1 and Shadow Hearts for PS1.

I would try Koudelka for PS1 just because its a somewhat different type RPG.

Okay, so maybe it isn't an RPG, but Sacrifice has a pretty good storyline. Need to have a somewhat decent comp for it, though. Especially for the mulitplayer.

But it's an absolutely beautiful game as far as character designs and environments. And the higher level spells kick ass.

Lots of humorous moments and dialogue in the game reminiscent of Monty Python in a Lord of the Rings-ish world.

Chocobo Racing and Chocobo dungeons (there are black and white mages there) :laugh:

I'd suggest Legend of Alon D'ar for PS2. It's not expensive if you can find it I found my copy for 10 bucks. The fighting can be a bit slow bt I like the music, graphics, story, and character interaction.

Earthbound and Lufia II are both amazingly good imo.

Also, I've been playing Zelda II: The Adventures of Link on an emulator (side not: it's legal since I own the cartridge) and I'm having a blast. It's technically an RPG, and it's one of the most difficult (and thus rewarding) games I've ever played. Save states make it managable though. I recommend it on the NES itself only if you're masochistic.

Zelda II is one of my all time favorite games in fact its the only reason I really wanted a Gamecube. I have the Zelda Collectors disk.

There's nothing remotely RPG-ish about Zelda II. =/

Also, this is a very old thread that no longer serves any purpose.

There's nothing remotely RPG-ish about Zelda II. =/

Also, this is a very old thread that no longer serves any purpose.

Zelda II had a bit of level-building-ish to it, didn't it? Or was that the various skills you picked up as you defeated certain bosses (downward striking with the sword while jumping, etc.)?

Being able to pick up a fire flower or mushroom in Super Mario Brothers didn't make it an RPG. I fail to see why Zelda should be held to an entirely different standard.

Being able to pick up a fire flower or mushroom in Super Mario Brothers didn't make it an RPG. I fail to see why Zelda should be held to an entirely different standard.

Not exactly the same thing, as you didn't lose the ability in Zelda once injured like you did in Mario. Powerups != skills.

And I'm not holding "Zelda" to an entirely different standard, just that one game in the series as it was pretty much completely different from the rest of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelda_II#Experience_Levels

Perhaps you're right, but my usual answer to that is that those characteristics are not truly defining features of RPGs because the original RPGs simply borrowed them from other types of games that already existed.

By the current standards given the perhaps incorrect label, it is an RPG. If you're going to whine everytime the term RPG is mentioned you should give up because you're not going to change language any time soon.

also: didn't realize this was a necro thread. :/

Zelda II had a bit of level-building-ish to it, didn't it? Or was that the various skills you picked up as you defeated certain bosses (downward striking with the sword while jumping, etc.)?
Sort of. Each time you gained a 'level', you could increase your defense, lower your MP consumption, or increase your attack power. That's it really.

Sort of. Each time you gained a 'level', you could increase your defense, lower your MP consumption, or increase your attack power. That's it really.

Where did the different sword attack skills come in, though? I remember you there was both downward sword attack and an upward strike you could learn, and maybe a couple others.

If you're going to whine everytime the term RPG is mentioned you should give up because you're not going to change language any time soon.

Awareness is the only thing that can correct such a problem. It is not whining to point out the error with such a goal in mind.

By the current standards given the perhaps incorrect label, it is an RPG. If you're going to whine everytime the term RPG is mentioned you should give up because you're not going to change language any time soon.

also: didn't realize this was a necro thread. :/

Who was whining, exactly?

Also, I would argue that Zelda II was a platformer with RPG and adventure game elements. Not necessarily a pure RPG, though.

I'd like to add in Terranigma. I've played through it twice already and it was a nice one to play.

Where did the different sword attack skills come in, though? I remember you there was both downward sword attack and an upward strike you could learn, and maybe a couple others.
There was really only three sword attacks in the game; the upward and downward thrust, and that weak attack that shoots out a little blade or something when Link has full health. There was a spell that allowed you to shoot fireballs from your sword too, and I think those are the only sword attacks that Link has. Just choosing the sword icon on the level up increases the damage that all these attacks do.

You get the Downward and Upward Thrusts the same way you get spells (from someone in town).

Zelda II is undoutably an Action-RPG, but it still has that RPG part to it. At least, with the common definition of "leveling up" in a game.

Again, though I've posted this before, removing the RPG title leaves a genre without a name, and the literal definition of RPG can apply to almost every single game. I think things are fine with the current definitions. "Whining" wasn't the right term, but oh well.

Breath of Fire 1-4. Numbers one and two can be had on GBA now (SNES versions of both are pretty expensive) and 3 and 4 are on PS1. Just do yourself a favor and avoid Dragon Quarter since it sucks, outside of the game's difficulty and a few of the characters.

I loved the first four games. What might throw you off at first is that in each game, if you follow the storyline, there are two characters named Ryu and Nina, but in each game, they're actually different than the previous Ryu and Nina. There are plenty of dragon powers to get, and while the first game has a hackneyed plot, the next three games have amazing plots, enemy designs, spells, and characters.

Grandias 1 and 2 are pretty good, though if you want number 2 then I suggest getting it for Dreamcast (if you have one) as the PS2 port has a lot of graphical glitches.

Vagrant Story, one the the best games created. Excellent story, excellent setting, excellent music. The translation from Japanese to English is so brilliantly done, so brilliant in fact I think the bloke who did it won an award for it. Just a shame it didn't sell so well (due to lack of advertising I think).

I'm gonna have to reccomend Ys Books I&II. That's about as obscure as it gets.
That's if you can find a good Turbografx-16(aka PC-Engine) emulator and a ROM of the game, or are willing to dish out $300+ on a used TG-16 and another $40+ on a copy of the game....

An easier route would be to snag Ys VI for the PS2. The story is just what one would expect from the Ys series, and the soundtrack is phenomenal as well.

If you're curious about an overlooked amalgamation of a Brawler / R.P.G. genre, I would suggest Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun. Compared to the rest of the Kunio-Kun series, Shodai probably has one of the strongest storylines. It also allows branching options during the story. A plethora of items that can enhance your stats, and weildible weapons resides within it, too. You can choose fights with anyone you encounter, and computer characters can either facilitate or hinder you in a fight. There's a good repertoire of combative moves as well. Although Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun was only released in Japan, thanks to the internet, a nearly complete translation of this game is availible via rom emulation.

Shadow Hearts is my favorite RPG for the PS2. SH has one of the most interesting battle systems i have evey played. even though SH only has about 20 hours of gameplay.

Paper Mario for the N64 ftw.

I would highly recommend legend of dragoon for the ps1 too.

It's such a great game, just hopefully you don't get turned off by having "a little" outdated graphics.

I think the Shin Megami Tensei series is pretty good if you haven't tried it yet.
Don't know if you even care anymore, though...

Illumnia...or Illumina.

heres some good ones
azure dreams
alundra
blaze n blade
guardians crusade
vagrant story
tombi 2(if that counts)
saga frontier 2 (1 was never released in europe)

heres some good ones
azure dreams
alundra
blaze n blade
guardians crusade
vagrant story
tombi 2(if that counts)
saga frontier 2 (1 was never released in europe)

^^Vagrant Story is the best game in that list.

I'd recomend Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption for the PC if you can find it anywhere, also I'd recomend Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (I'm on my third playthrough), though I've been told that the first one is better.

I'd recomend Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption for the PC if you can find it anywhere, also I'd recomend Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (I'm on my third playthrough), though I've been told that the first one is better.

If you do get V:TMR, please please get the 1.1 patch. It allows you to save anywhere (instead of dying and have to rework the game a few hours) and it balances some of the bosses. Because you'll just frustratingly break your keyboard otherwise.

Tactics Ogre Advance for the GBA is worth checking out if you liked FFT

Shadow Hearts II (PS2) and The Bard's Tale (Xbox). Both have a great sense of humor.