Recommendations for great DS/GBA Rpgs?
 

Hi everyone,

I'll be purchasing a Nintendo DS in a week or so and was wondering if anyone could recommend great RPG's for either the DS or GBA?

I know I definently would like Final Fantasy I+II, IV Advance and Shining Force.

If it helps my all time fav rpgs are

1.) Suikoden series
2.) Final Fantasy series
3.) Shining Force series
4.) Xenogears (the first disc anyways)
5.) Lunar series

Thanks in advance for the help.

Lost Magic, Seiken Densetsu: Children of Mana (seriously, import this), Dragon Quest Rocket Slime, Final Fantasy III, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Lunar: Dragon Song, Contact, Xenosaga series when it's in english.

That's all I can think of at the moment. But it's more than enough to keep you occupied for an extremely long time.

Children of Mana was confirmed for US release on October 30th. So you may want to wait for it in English. Unless of course you don't want to wait and/or understand Japanese. Also Lunar: DS is garbage.

One game I'll recommend is Phoenix Wright. While it's not really a RPG, it is a story based game and it's a lot of fun.

I don't know a lick of japanese and I can play Seiken Densetsu: Children of Mana perfectly. Since it's a dungeon crawler it really doesn't focus on story, and most things are self-explanatory. The only difficult part is gem collecting, and understanding what each gem does.

Then again, there's a Gem Translation Guide on GameFAQs, so it isn't a big obstacle to overcome. I've printed it and it's been very useful.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...1.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Stange game, but it's one of the best.

If a game is confirmed for a US release, then you're just an idiot otaku if you actually import it. I mean, Jesus, show a little patience.

If you're going back to the GBA as well, don't forget Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. If you never played them on the SNES, the remakes of Breath of Fire 1 and 2 are worthwhile, too. I understand they even recycled the hideous Engrish tranlsation in BoF2! Lufia: Ruins of Lore wasn't bad, though I couldn't inspire myself to finish it. Zelda the Minish Cap too - that should go without saying.

Uhh... other examples escape me at the moment. The GBA wasn't exactly a great haven for RPGs. Several exist, but Golden Sun never clicked with me and CIMA kinda sucked, among others.

I will also 2nd Zelda the Minish Cap. I'd say it's the most creative gameboy game I've played.

It was on special two months ago at play-asia for $20. Anybody turning down something that cheap and Mana related needs their head checked.

So when's the release date for english? I'll be buying it. I know I have the japanese version but it's just one of those games I'd play over again.

Can't believe I forgot Advance Wars DS. You defintely need to pick that one up.

You're better off playing Tales of Phantasia on an emulator, since the port just sucked. Even if the new ToP is the only english version, I really prefer Dejap's translation (if only for a few lines =D).

Oh and elixir, he's looking for good games, not just about every RPG that has appeared on the handhelds. Who in their right mind would even consider Lunar Dragon Song.

What about FFTA? It gets a lot of crap, but I really enjoyed it, even though it's story is more aimed at children. As long as you don't compare it too much to FFT (PS1), you'll have a good time with it.

Not sure but uh, I could take a wild random guess here and say that Lunar fans do.

I think your wild random guess is rather wrong, since Lunar fans especially tend to hate this game more than any other. It's not just a bad Lunar game, it's a bad RPG, and recommending a game like that is just wrong. Besides, could it be possible to at least base your recommendations on personal experience, or some reviews, instead of just listing games?

(Also, get back to those Mana sig/ava's)

I agree with Dizzy. Riviera had enjoyable but generic story with characters that I really liked and the battle system was a new twist.

I just got Lost Magic today and it's looking pretty good except for that time limit which is a problem for cautious players like me.

I find the Megaman Battle Network series enjoyable. I like 3 best myself compared to 1-4. I haven't played 5 yet so I can't tell you anything about that. 6 is coming out soon and I here it's going to be one of the best.

Atlus is bringing out Super Robot Wars some time this month if you like mechs and Fire Emblem styled gameplay. I've only played a translated rom of SRW3 and I liked it.

Atlus is also bringing out Summon Night this month as well. I've read it's an RPG where you create weapons and fight in a Tales of Phantasia styled combat.

You might also want to give the Castlevania games for a spin for platforming/RPG goodness with all those gothic castle settings.

Looks like I'll be waiting for English localizations for some of those titles. :)
I have Xenosaga I and II for the PS2 and was wondering if you knew what the differences would be? I loved XS1 but couldnt stand II and did not get very far in it. :(

Thanks for the reminder, totally forget about those. Takes me back to a time where RPG's would actually beat your ass. Haven't experienced any rpg party wipes for a long time.. save for Blackwing Lair bosses. hehheh

Will definently check out the Zelda games as well.

A whole lot of suggestions from everyone, thanks I really appreciate it. Going to be quite some time to slug through all that. Hopefully the thread will still exist in the system a year from now. ;)

and uhh Konami really needs to release the Suikoden I+II combo on both the PSP and DS.

Double Post:
Mecha and tactical rpg based combat is ftw. ;)

Seconding SRW Original Generation 1 and 2 (the ones Atlus is bringing over). Just as a quick warning, though, they're exceptionally difficult at times, granted quite fun.

Hello, 650,000 HP boss that restores 30% of that every turn and has a barrier that cuts damage dealt to him in half.

Need to second the two GBA Fire Emblem games. Both are as good as any available console RPG, with excellent stories and gameplay. Don't forget the Megaman Battle Network games...They are actually rather splendid action RPG's. I play 2 on and off and I really enjoy it. And if you want to go old-school, try Phantasy Star Collection.

I bought Lost Magic, but I honestly wouldn't recommend it...It looks cool at first and it is a different approach, but about 3 hours in, the charm of touchscreen spell-casting has worn off and the mechanics (your guy can't fight back and basically dies if an enemy touches him...You also can't cast spells while you're running or getting smacked around) make for an unfairly difficult and unenjoyable game. I'm done with it and I'll either sell it or trade it in soon...I might hold onto it and hope the value goes up.

Xenosaga DS is basically a huge recap of the first two games. The battle system takes elements from both of the PS2 games, and there are some added story scenes. Check the gamefaqs message boards for more info on the changes. They aren't anything major as far as I know, and not vital to understanding Episode III's story.

If you can find it, Demikids is a Pokemon-type game, right down to collecting monsters and such (although in a different fashion), but the monster fusing and the battle system make it quite different. There are two versions, Light and Dark, but they only have slight variations in them (e.g. the main character and his monster) so they're essentially the same.

Shining Soul II is a fun game if you like action-oriented RPGs. I don't know what kind of story it offers, but the gameplay alone warrants a purchase. You can choose between different classes of fighters (I believe there were 8 different ones), so there's alot of replay value.

Alot of great games were already mentioned, but I will second Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Megaman Battle Network, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (just don't expect to be playing Final Fantasy Tactics 2, if you've played the original). Breath of Fire I and II as well.

Yeah, they didn't bother to retranslate it. Why? Cause people are going to buy it anyway! (like me) I'm sure some people bought it JUST to laugh at the translation.