I don't know if a thread like this have already made or not ( I checked two pages and....) , so here goes nothing...

My opinion about good RPG is a game that have a good storyline, high rate of its replay value ( mini game, sub event, secret, mystery, etc ) and interesting character's personality. How about you guys?

Note:
-You may also make an example by comparing a good one with the bad one (i.e. Xeno and GrandiaX)
-You may use the poll if you like it ^^ ( you can choose more than one )

Hmmmm... let�s see: Lunar 2 surely was an awesome awesome rpg, and why...? The plot was very much some: Help that weirdo-girl to defeat this ugly evil badass and - oh yeah - make her fall in love with you.
The story was not that original, but what they did with it was really amazing, mainly thanks to the characters, that grew to me very much. I had the urge to discover every corner of the world because I did not want to miss any tiny bit of dialogue between them :P
I say, great characters are one of the most important things...

Other than that, gameplay... yes... argh, it�s hard to say, I know when I see a good rpg, but I don�t know which of all its elements makes it good.

There are two major things that hold me in with an RPG, and both are needed to be either average or better than to hold my attention throughout.

1.) Storyline. The plot to the whole game needs to be good, otherwise I just end up not caring about the game and let it gather dust. I need a strong hero / heroine with a motive, a female / male partner to play off that hero(ine), a villain with a motive beyond "Let's destroy the world, because I'M EVIL~!" And a support cast who add to the plot in relevant places. A great example of this is Final Fantasy VII.

2.) An easy / addictive battle system. The game could have the greatest plot in the world, but if the battles take too long / don't grip me as a player, I'll just shrug and leave it alone. One of the main reasons I haven't finished Final Fantasy V is because I just can't be bothered to do the battles. Battle systems like in Final Fantasy VII - IX, Grandia 2, and the two Suikodens are easy enough to learn, addictive to participate in, and therefore make the levelling up experience slightly less tedious.

I believe storyline is the most important. Hands down, it is the making or breaking part of a game. And as to FFVII; how is Sephiroth different from what you said you don't like to see, BZ? He wants to destroy the world because he is evil, and has a very fragile cover story to make him seem quasi-believable.

<font face="lucida calligraphy" size="2">I say first of all, the characters. Relating to or just plain liking/disliking certain characters really stands out in an RPG for me, moreso than an awesome plot twist or story. Granted, good characters might not save a lousy story, and an great story might save a subpar cast, but if I had to pick one thing that would be great about a RPG, it would be the characters.

Next comes the plot and storyline, as suggested above.

Finally, and I know I'm going to be disagreed with here, but graphics/sound come closely behind. Seeing a very detailed world or environment adds *a lot* in my perspective, and really adds to the awe factor that a RPG should give. As much crap as some people give FMV's and all the flashy graphics of newer games, I think they add tremendously to my enjoyment of them.

And upon thinking about this a bit more, I just might would take *good* characters and storyline with amazing graphics over anything else... being able to see a twisted glare the villan gives as they anounce their bizarre plot to conquer the world might say as much as the very words they're speaking... much more than a little sprite and a blurb of text over them.

I suppose you get the idea.

Well really the story line counts...............nuf said

Finally, and I know I'm going to be disagreed with here, but graphics/sound come closely behind. Seeing a very detailed world or environment adds *a lot* in my perspective, and really adds to the awe factor that a RPG should give. As much crap as some people give FMV's and all the flashy graphics of newer games, I think they add tremendously to my enjoyment of them.

And upon thinking about this a bit more, I just might would take *good* characters and storyline with amazing graphics over anything else... being able to see a twisted glare the villan gives as they anounce their bizarre plot to conquer the world might say as much as the very words they're speaking... much more than a little sprite and a blurb of text over them.

Amazing, I never realized this eventhough I had played so many RPG. I see your point and might also want to try your perspective ^^

Oh, just to make sure that no one misunderstanding my words, I post this because I respect her opinion and I think its acceptable sooo don't think anything else beside that ( expecially bad one <_< ,k? )

The storyline and how it has been brought to you (the gamer) counts the most. Many RPG's have the same world scenario but some games bring it brillianty so that you love the story and a thing what makes a good story are the characters. If they are true and not flat character types then the story and the game can get a whole lot of better.
Graphics do count (like Serienne said) but graphics should never take the leading role.

Storyline is the key, also included are mini games, graphics, naah. Also, it's gotta be good (like generally) not like have a kickass story and gay music and all that. Gotta be all good.

And as to FFVII; how is Sephiroth different from what you said you don't like to see, BZ? He wants to destroy the world because he is evil, and has a very fragile cover story to make him seem quasi-believable.

***Final Fantasy VII Spoilers (Probably.)***

I always thought (and am open to correction) that Sephiroth wanted to use the life force of the Cetra to make himself a God, and that the resultant destruction of the planet was just an unfortunate by-product of his evil design...

... Maybe I just like Sephiroth's "become deeply twisted due to the way I was born" story so much that I overlooked the whole "destroy the world because I'm evil" thing...

I just got back from Christmas vacation so I was too lazy to read what everyone else has to say.

Anyway, I guess I'm that dumbass that voted for "other". You forgot how user friendly the game is. Basically I like a game that anyone can just pick up and play and not have a hard time but that is nearly impossible to master. It keeps people playing in two ways, one it is fun to just start to play and to have fun with every now and then, the other is that it is so hard to master that perfectionists keep coming back till they feel they have it down.

The other key aspect, as far as rpgs are concerned, is storyline/gameplay (kinda go together). The game has to have good story behind the hacking and slashing or no one is going to want to play it, simple as that. I would write more but I don't want to be here all day.

To me, a good RPG is one that scores high of most of the points you all mentionned above, all of these characteristics make a RPG, so to determine how good is one, you have to take into consideration how many criterias the game fulfill. That simple.

I think the storyline is the most impotant and it must be one that grips you from the start. Second would be the characters, i think if the characters are well written then the story is more believable.



I always thought (and am open to correction) that Sephiroth wanted to use the life force of the Cetra to make himself a God, and that the resultant destruction of the planet was just an unfortunate by-product of his evil design...


Thats what i always thought.

I dont think grapics or sound are important, my fave game, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (semi RPG), was on the snes, and i sometimes still play it in the holidays.

Sometimes, though, the grapics/sound help give it an extra kick...

The story is very important, but it doesnt need to go into too many technicalities, cos that just ruins it for me.

The replayability of a game is important too, i played Legend of zelda over and over trying to figure out stuff, which brings me to mini -quests.

Those are really good, as it gives you a little break when you are bored. I really liked Anju + Kafei on Majoras mask,it was great when i finished it.

The background of the characters also gives some effect, but i find that it isn't overly important in some cases.

You know, I ponder about this everyday...what makes an rpg so great? Why do we play them? What makes us want more? What is their true purpose?

When I play an rpg, I try to understand it the more times I play. Then think, hey! That's pretty darn clever.
But ask yourselves...why do you play it? Are you a person who loves stories? You like the graphics? The challenge?
Personally I love them because they are enchanting, they give me a whole new perspective to imagination. I am curious to the messages they give out. Plus I'm just extremely open-minded. So I admire the work of great artists & programmers. I play them for challenge and inspiration.

well.....

to me, a good rpg is like morrowind with a non-turn-based fighting system

but a decent fighting system.....like zelda

but colorful and epic in size..like FF

many things make a good rpg, too hard to choose the most important.

Well, one of the things that wasn't mentioned on the poll was music. For me, music has a big affect on any game. Without a good musical score, I'm probably not going to enjoy a game very much. Thank god for Nobou Uematsu.

But the biggest factor in determining a good RPG from a bad RPG is definitly the storyline. Without a good storyline, I won't even continue an RPG.

Character development is also important to an RPG. I like to see the characters in the story grow mentally and emotionally.

very true, i never thought of that, but a monotonous score can really take away what brings you into any game.

The 2 most important things is the storyline and characters IMO. The characters should have alot of depth within the storyline. FF6 is a perfect example of the perfect RPG.

Most people would vote storyline as being the most important factor of an RPG, and at one time I would have agreed, but after all, an RPG is still a game (keyword "game" rather than "role playing"), and I would think that gameplay would be the most important factor in determining a "good" RPG.

Phantasy Star Online, any given Breath of Fire, Legend of Dragoon, Legend of Legaia, Lunar 2: EB, Castlevania: SotN, even Zelda come to think of it, are all RPGs whose storylines aren't particularly strong or original, and in some cases lack dynamic characters, PSO and Zelda's main characters having no personality at all. But the reason I personally exhausted these titles until there was nothing left to do was because of the fun, swift battle systems, the side quests, and the sheer amount of secrets, and exploration involved to discover new things.

Many RPGs may become famous because of their plot, but they could be nothing more than interactive books if they aren't entertaining outside their narrative.

Not to say that gameplay is the only important factor here. Plot and characters should go hand-in-hand, working together to set the mood. Really, you spend less time with the story than you do fighting, gaining valuable experience to help you overcome the challenge of the next boss. But in situations where the story takes over for some time, it shouldn't slow the game to the point where you'd rather skip through the sea of text and continue fighting instead (Star Ocean 2...*sigh* and Xenogears, for the very short time I played it).

I'll also pair off graphics and sound. Graphics do matter, and assist in making the game. Graphics alone can't make a game good.


Finally, and I know I'm going to be disagreed with here, but graphics/sound come closely behind. Seeing a very detailed world or environment adds *a lot* in my perspective, and really adds to the awe factor that a RPG should give. As much crap as some people give FMV's and all the flashy graphics of newer games, I think they add tremendously to my enjoyment of them.


Couldn't agree more.

A game such as Final Fantasy X, whose world really isn't that large can be made to seem 10 times its size because what you see seems so "real".

In terms of sound, the simple things like a sword actually sounding like it's piercing right through armor is nice, as opposed to some alien high-pitched sound effect. Something not quite as simple, a soundtrack, for example can take the gaming experience to a new level if it can appeal to your emotions in the right way. (*cuggles Vagrant Story*)

I'm not really super picky when it comes to games, but the graphics are probably the least important to me.

Look at some of the classic RPGs. Did they have the best graphics? Of course not, but they were still awesome games.

You have to be able to get good gameplay out of it. A storyline is always good, but if the game is fun, the story isn't always all that important. The battle systems change with everygame, so I tend not to worry about that.

I think the most important part to all games is battle system. As example, FFV is not a great story I dont think but I love the job system cuz that part of the gameplay really grabbed me.

Another example, Zelda has the most boring story, im a kid, save a princess, find 7 things and kill the bad guy. But its really fun cuz they gameplay is awesome. You need gameplay.

However story is almost as important if not just as important. Its hard to choose.

(Yes, Zelda is a RPG and dont let no one else tell you otherwise!)

I voted for the character option as good characters is what makes me like RPGs so much. Also, a good storyline, amazing graphics and some ruley music would do some good as well ^_^