[PS2] In need of an RPG

I haven't played Tales of the Abyss yet, but I've heard it's both better than Tales of Legendia (which wasn't all that bad) and a 3D Tales of Symphonia, and I really liked that particular Tales game. Like I said though, I haven't played it personally.

Dragon Quest VIII is amazing though. Runs about 80 hours, lots of stuff to do, cool characters, and it has an epilogue quest you can complete immediately after the first playthru that'll definitely provide a nice challenge. It's a great game -- couldn't recommend it enough.

Rogue Galaxy ranks slightly higher on my list though, if only because of the sheer difference in content. RG offers much, much more in the way of side quests and it has a bonus dungeon post-completion. Very, very cool game.

Grandia III was, in a word, alright. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Same great battle system with the addition of the Aerial Finish attacks, which are pretty cool and add a tad bit mroe depth to an otherwise deep battle system for what it is. Story's kinda weak, but getting the airplane and flying around the world map was by far one of the high points for me. It's super linear though with little else to do but beat the game. Still if you like Grandia, you'll like this one.

Valkyrie Profile II is goddamn beautiful. There's no other way to put it. It is slightly weaker overall than the first game though, but that's hardly a fault since VP1 was simply amazing. Battles are still fun and slightly more strategic since you can split up your party. I don't like the dungeons as much though, since they require you to micromanage orbs that, by either placing or removing them from bases laid throughout the map, can drastically alter the flow of events while traversing the dungeon and battling. It seemed to make VP2 unnecessarily tedious in my opinion, though some players will disagree with me. Still a great game.

Of the ones you listed, the ones I commented on I've played. Radiata Stories never struck me as something I needed to play, and I never got in to Shadow Hearts. But you did leave one game off your list that you've either played and opted to not add to your list, or you've never played it which should quickly be remedied before any of those other games.

Okami. If you haven't played it, it trumps these other titles if not by a mile, certainly by enough. For me t explain why would take all night, suffice it to say the game is awesome and deserves to not only be played, but to be owned and collected.

Now, beyond Okami, my top picks are gonna be Rogue Galaxy, Dragon Quest VIII, Valkyrie Profile II and Grandia III, in that order. That's a fair amount of RPGs to take in and unless you lack a summer job, you'll be playing these probably into the start the school year.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Sepharite

Okami's an RPG? RPG-action? I was meaning to try that but I never found a decent torrent, I mean... no cash. =/

Okami's about as much an RPG as Ocarina of Time/Twilight Princess is, since it plays so very, very similar to those two. But it's also just a fantastic game. Couldn't recommend it highly enough, and quite frankly I'm surprised no one else in this thread has said anything. :/

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Sepharite

Dragon Quest is fucking gorgeous O_O I spent 3 hours playing the game basically wandering the world map. I'm shallow like that. But it seems good so far. The story isn't very engaging. I think it's basically going to towns and helping solve that mystery, get the next clue, move onto the next area. I could be horribly wrong. Also, I hate that you can only save in the church and can only heal at the inn. I'm guessing the other DQ games are like this? It adds to the challenge, but it keeps me at the edge of my seat when I'm at critical and I want to get the hell out of there.

It's been a thing throughout the whole series of games -- churches are for saving, inns are for healing, period. However unlike many RPGs, you can opt to leave the dungeons at anytime by either, well, leaving, or using the spell Evac.

Originally Posted by Talaysen

...what. Most people I know of think it's the worst or second worst. First time I've heard of this.

Actually, I too prefer Wild Arms 2 to most of the series, with WA 3 coming in a close second. But you're right, far as I've heard most people don't like Wild Arms 2 at all.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Ah, speaking of which, Forsety's post reminded me that there's another Growlanser game coming to the PS2, subtitled Heritage of War, I believe.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Sepharite

Wow, now I feel bad. I'm 15 hours into DQ8, and it has gotten extremely boring. I'm right where I get to explore the Western Continents.

It's time to try another game. xD

When you get to the 20, 25 hour mark the game'll really start to pick up. If you can, keep playing. Once you get past that point, it'll really open up.

I was speaking idiomatically.