Are RPG's getting worse every 5 years? (List your top 10 RPG's ever to help!)

For me I think there should be two lists. One for console games, which although there have been a few games that are decent and new, the better ones seem to be older. One for computer RPGs, which unlike consoles, have been getting better and better as time goes on.

Consoles:
1. Final Fantasy Tactics
2. Final Fantasy IV
3. Chrono Cross
4. Final Fantasy VI
5. Shining Force
6. Valkyrie Profile
7. Final Fantasy
8. Dragon Warrior (honestly, I've never played any of the sequals!)
9. Disgaea
10. Final Fantasy Adventure

Computer: (I'm classifying the XBox games that are on here as Computer games, as they are done with the idea of porting it over anyway. And they are better on the computer anyways. )
1. KOTOR
2. Diablo
3. Baldur's Gate
4. Fable
5. Diablo II
6. KOTOR 2
7. Heroes of Might and Magic 3
8. Neverwinter Nights
9. Good and Evil
10. Dungeon Siege

As far as FF Tactics, I do classify that as an RPG, and very different from Starcraft et al., mainly due to the turn based nature of it's gameplay, as opposed to real-time strategy of the others. I find the focus to be on the story and characters rather than the gameplay itself, which are the meat of Starcraft/Warcraft/Warlords Battlecry/Seven Kingdoms (which are the best in the genre, IMO).

Computer games seem to be going in a completely different direction than consoles, in that they seem to favor more "live action" type elements than the turn based style of consoles. Although recent releases for the PS2 have got me thinking about that. How about The Bard's Tale game, or Champions of Norath, or X-Men Legends? Those are great games, and they are done in the favored "computer style" of Diablo/Dungeon Siege/Nox. Maybe console games will get better in the future, or rather, there might be more of a "blurring" between the genres, so we end up with better games overall. That's my hope.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Megavolt

FFXII seems to be doing just that. I have high hopes for it and with Famitsu scoring it 40/40, things are looking up.

I forgot to list Grandia. That should make my top ten as well. Not..enough..space...

Not that I listen to reviews that much...I judge games on my own terms. Hell, I love all of the Armored Core games, even though most now get dismal reviews. I will give FFXII a chance. Hopefully it delivers, but it does have a lot to make up for in my eyes.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by UtopiaNH

I rarely participate in people's nostalgia-fests, but this thread in particular really eats at me. >_<

One of the above posters suggesting that console RPGs are getting worse, and PC games are getting better only shows his experience with PC RPGs is limited and he's only just now getting into the genre (when the total amount of development going into the genre has been decreasing, and the amount of creative developers have been fleeing the field >_<). While console RPGs are continuing to diversify, niche and create entirely new and different experiences for the first time after a long period of time of being weak W-RPG clones.

I've been playing RPGs since I was introduced to Wizardry 2 at age 5, so I'm not new to the genre. These titles have just managed to impress me the most for their creativity and overall playing experience. Console RPGs still haven't hit their peak, and there was as much crap (actually more) released during the SNES and PSX generations as there is now. I really don't understand the concern of there being a sudden flood of crap when there always has been.

My main reasoning behind it is that it seems that Console RPGs seem to be ever-increasing towards the style of "playing a book" rather than actually having an involving playstyle. Lately it seems that the genre revolves around the story more than character development, and choices from the player as well as freedom within the story are becoming very limited. My main concern is that if I wanted a book, I would read a book, which does it much better than a game does. Instead I want a game, that not only has good story and such, but the freedom to have fun within the game.

Computer games rather than console games seem to get this. Look at Oblivion, Fable, the Baldur's Gate games, Dungeon Siege, KOTORs, Neverwinter Nights, etc. etc. All of these gear towards character customization and allowing you to play a character with the freedom you want, while still telling a good story. Console games hardly do that anymore.

I do agree, there has been crap released on all sides of the fence, but it seems to me that the games that stand out on the console side have much better lasting appeal and replay value, just due to the freedom of them. I just don't see the same thing out of Console RPGs. As well, the more "adult" themes of Computer based RPGs appeal to me more than the "cartoony" kids-friendly Console RPGs. Maybe I've just gotten too old, heh.

BTW, I have been truly "in the genre" since Final Fantasy I on the Nintendo, so I do have a lot of experience playing these games to judge for myself what I like, and what I don't like. It seems while trying to "diversify" and "create a new experience", console RPGs in general have been losing something...that it is more than just the story that makes a good RPG. To make it a good experience, you need to be able to set your own mark on the game, rather than be able to conform to what someone tells you your mark should be. They give you the character and tell you more or less to like it or leave it. Computer RPGs give you the story, the world etc, and then have you create a character based on how you want to play, thus letting you experience the game based on your own playstyle, which makes for a far better game overall.

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