/vr/ - Retro Games

>>2709276
BoF2 is all over the place, but the big twist by the time of the final boss is great. Probably not great enough to warrant putting up with the game's bullshit, but it blew my mind as a kid.

BoF3 has a good story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XuwE6Dnmmc

>>2709359
I also loved how BoF 2 had multiple endings and a crafting system.

>>2709276
The first BoF is a pretty mediocre and very archetypal SNES JRPG. You're better off playing the second game and onwards if you want a better story and better everything, then coming back to the first game as an oddity.

Try Live-A-Live too, though it's not a series. It has a story made up of several chapters you can beat in any order, each with different gameplay gimmicks, and the twists are real. It's a short game with no real grinding, and the combat system is a bit unconventional and can keep things fresh. Seriously one of the most characterful and well-presented SNES RPGs ever.

>>2709276
Most JRPG's are self-contained, isolated. Which is honestly good.

If you've played Final Fantasies you've played the casual JRPG's. The logical step is something in the same vein, by a different developer (BoF, or Dragon Quest, Legend of Dragoon, Legend of Legaia, Grandia, Jade Cocoon), or if you enjoyed the FF's you could continue with Squares other series that are not "traditional" JRPG's like Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Parasite Eve (highly recommend) or Vagrant Story, or try something like Chrono Trigger (amazing game), and its sequel Cross, which is really a game that people either love or hate (I personally hate it).

You could also branch out into Strategy RPGs, like Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics. FFT is very much TO2 in everything but name and setting. There are literally dozens of SRPG on PS1, Front Mission 3, Kartia the Word of Fate, Koudelka, Eternal Eyes, Brigandine: Legend of Forensa, Rhapsody: A musical adventure, Saiyuki: Journey West, Vandal Hearts 1/2, Vanguard Bandits, just to name a few.

Then theres Lunar 1 and 2 on PS1 or Sega CD, and the Arc the Lad games on PS1.

That should be more then enough to get you going.

>>2709276
Secret of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 3
Metal Max Returns
Super Mario RPG
Earthbound / Mother 3 / Earthbound Zero
Shin Megami Tensei / Persona

Not OP but if I wanted to start playing a SaGa game, where would I start?

>>2709867

I'd go for Final Fantasy Legend II, you can try the original on Gameboy which still plays perfectly, or you can play the remake on the DS which added a lot of stuff.

I'm partial to the original, I think the gameplay is more streamlined and the music is better but honestly they did a wonderful job with the remake, so it's your call.

BoF series don't really get good until BoF3.

BoF1 has some decent ground works, and some very cool ideas with Fusions, and Dragon Forms, Over world character abilities, Day & Night, etc. However the story, gameplay, "secrets", are all simple, and very easy to meta game. Though even knowning all the tricks too it, it's very long and dull grind. GBA version fixes some grinding issues, but I would pass.

BoF2 Improves on their strengths more then anything, while also fleshing out better characters, and story, but not enough to fix the dull game play. One of the cooler things this game does is the town building, but I don't think it's enough to save it.

Fuckin' Wild Arms, yo.

>>2709276
BoF1 is pretty tedious and straightforward, you'll probably hate it coming straight from FF. Play 2 with the retranslation because it fucking needs it.

I agree with >>2710267 you should play some Wild Arms. Chrono Trigger and Cross in order will provide some pretty interesting twists.

>>2709276
Did you like VI more than the others? Play the Suikoden series.

>>2710327

Is Suikoden the one where the game is a collection of side-stories, and you level automatically?

Not him, but I loved VI mainly because of the character flexibility in learning spells\equipment and sheer roster size. Would the Suikoden games have any of that, by chance?

>>2709276
Phantasy Star 4 (1-3 after since they aren't as good)

>>2710337
Few PS1 ones autolevel, I only remember Chrono Cross did that one in particular.

It's got loads and loads of characters but weapons and the like are mostly straight upgrades.

>>2709867
Either SaGa 2(FFL2) or Frontier.
SaGa 2 is a good introduction to some key features of the series but lacks the vast majority of those that became staples during the Romancing Series on the SFC, so
Frontier is better on that point of view.
Frontier is very non linear all around, most people get lost easily and has a few traps for the unwary player that might make you rage a bit.

None of them are story focused in the traditional sense outside maybe Frontier 2 and the second Romancing SaGa, if you're looking for plot and melodrama the series isn't for you.

>>2709867
Final Fantasy Legend II to get your feet wet. It is a short game, it gets you use to how character growth works with various races, and it is more streamlined than the first game yet you won't feel lost like later entries in the series.

Trust me, you are going to feel lost when you play the Romancing SaGa trilogy or SaGa Frontier.

>>2710351
>1-3 after
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Phantasy Star 4, the only one in the series worth playing.

Wild Arms 2, though the others aren't awful.

Breath of Fire 3 is best in it's series and completely disconnected from the others, story-wise.

Dragon Quest 8 is my favorite from that series, though you can't go wrong with 7, either. There are some DS and IOS/Android translations of the older games that are supposed to be pretty good.

The Legend of Dragoon is great, though a little repetitive.

Chrono Trigger absolutely recommended, may be one of the best of all time.

Oh! And Super Mario RPG while we're talking about Square. It's something completely out of left field but it works very well.

motherfucker, play some Suikoden.

Thank me 5+ games later for giving you a series with fantastic lore, a fully realized world with gameplay spanning generations, Unique, colorful and often recurring characters that feel like genuine people and an overall story that emphasises themes of political intrigue, history, betrayal, personal relationships and character development over common RPG tropes such as "farm boy saves the world"

Seriously, this shot is top

>>2711183

What is the gameplay\character setup like? I just can't enjoy Attack\Skill\Item\Run RPG's anymore.

>>2711174
>Breath of Fire 3 is best in it's series
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

>it's
Oh, nevermind.

>>2711174
>Phantasy Star 4, the only one in the series worth playing.
faggot

>>2711174
>Phantasy Star 4, the only one in the series worth playing.
Right, because Sega would just keep making sequels for a franchise that always sucked.

>>2711174
>Super Mario RPG
Oh fuck off. I can name three better RPGs with my eyes closed.
>Live A Live
>Bahamut Lagoon
>Super Hydlide

BoF1 was similar to final fantasy because it was made by square, the other ones were all capcom, and go in a completely different direction.
With the exception of dragon quarter, they were all pretty fun, 3 was the best though.

Star Ocean 1 and 2 are all you need, baby.
Nothing was made after those two, don't look

>>2711882
Super Mario RPG is fun fuck off nigger

>>2711958
>because it was made by square
No. It was only localized by Sqaure. Capcom decided not to hire Square to localize the second game, and it showed.

>>2711998
Weird thing was that back at release, Square sold me that game more than Capcom did, because that was the point I realized Square meant good RPGs.

>>2711998
It was MADE by Squaresoft, you numbnuts. Please don't talk about which you have no knowledge about. Kiddo.

I played BOF1, loved transforming into dragons. BOF2's dragon transformations were more like summons, except they consumed all your MP.

I'm a complete beginner when it comes to rpgs, but I've started playing phantasy star 1 and I'm wondering whether I should finish it or not. Is it a long game? Are there any points where you have to grind for exorbitantly long times to get through the game?

Does anyone here actually know the difference between the Romancing SaGa and Frontier SaGa games?

I'm trying to figure this shit out but there's an immense amount of jargon being thrown about "x mechanic makes a comeback, and it functions just like the previous series". I'm really just looking for one of the games that doesn't need a guide to get through, I've heard some horror stories about the series in regards to that.

>>2711183
>MFW japan latched onto the child hero when Geddoe had every reason to be flame champion.

But they burnt down his village! :(

>>2712061
I've only played a little of RS1 but from what I've read all the SaGa games have differences to the point that the differences between the Romancing and Frontier series don't seem that big.

For the most part, I'd say RS is less character based and more open-world based. You pick a character, do a series of introductory quests, and then you just explore the world.

FS is more like, you pick a character and then the whole thing is his quest.

The Frontier SaGa games are more linear so you probably wouldn't need a guide, Romancing SaGa is confusing even with a guide. I got completely lost in RS1 because I didn't understand that each time you fight a monster time goes forward and I ended up missing all the early game quests by grinding.

>>2712061
Get Frontier 2, it's much more clear in direction of plot.

>>2712115
You forgot characters like Blue, who's sole scenario is "just go do stuff and learn magic."

The linearity is subject to who you chose, though really you can do whatever you want with anyone.

>>2712061
Just play the game that interests you instead of worrying about mechanics. You are suppose to stumble around in Kawazu games.

GRANDIA

>>2712689

Getting lost isn't an issue, it's just some games seem to have permadeath, some have enemies that scale with your level and if you level too much you can get stuck getting 1 shot everywhere.

>>2709276
Have you played Chrono Trigger OP?

>>2711174
>Breath of Fire 3 is best in it's series
debatable

>and completely disconnected from the others, story-wise
this is the definition of "wrong"

Not OP, but I'm about to start BoF2 for the first time.

Should I play with the fan translation, or tough it out with the supposedly bad original script? Would I be missing out on anything?

>>2717303
Recent wisdom says you should play the fan translation. The original script is really problematic (and I think it gives you incorrect/misleading instructions a few times... someone is welcome to correct me on that if I'm wrong).

I hope you enjoy it! One of my favorite SNES games.

Shin Megami Tensei is great, but there are some mixed opinions on the snes games. Personally I love it and the aesthetic.

Both SMT I and SMT II have some pretty mind fuck twists.

THOR BRINGING THE HAMMER OF JUSTICE IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING

>>2717303
Fan translation, although you won't be missing a lot with the original.
What happened is that the original's text wasn't expanded (they didn't want to pay to manufacture bigger cartridges), so they had to do with what little space they had. This leaves the translation quite dry, and 1 or 2 times you get confused about what you're supposed to do.

>>2717415
The one with the translation error (incorrect instructions) was 3, before that desert part - there's an NPC that will give you the instructions, but you can also look at a book (when you camp) for these instructions... however both sets give different directions.

>>2717439
>you won't be missing a lot
You will miss different personalities of the characters.

>>2709276
Bof1 is pretty much complete trash unless you speak japenese. I've beaten and completely regretted wasting my time. Life's short and there are hundreds of rpgs that are more worthwhile.

>>2717303
>>2717415
Can't you even differentiate script from translation, you fucking retards?