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/vr/ - Retro Games

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4953472 No.4953472 [Reply] [Original]

Hey guys, I'm not sure what the etiquette is around here regarding recommendation threads, but I'm looking for something very specific so I thought I'd ask here.

After having played and, sadly, not thoroughly enjoyed Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (which I'm gonna use as a reference point for convenience), I want to get into another classic JRPG that meets the following criteria:

>not on a platform more recent than the original Playstation (any other system is okay; SNES would even be preferred, but it's not a must)
>combat that isn't too involving (by which I mean no strategy/tactical RPGs)
>somewhat compelling, maybe even creative story (doesn't have to blow my mind, but it should be more than "Kid wants to become a hero, so he goes out and does indeed become a hero")
>emphasis on party dynamics, like banter or (non-romantic) relationships (excellently done in Lunar)
>a sense of dependability and permanency when it comes to the party (something I didn't like about Lunar was how the first half of the game had party members coming and going at a steady pace; I'd like for there to be a team that stays together throughout the whole thing)
>little or no level scaling
>little or no dungeon puzzles, especially not Sokoban-style ones (something Lunar did remarkably well)
>writing that takes itself seriously (no genre parody or "self-aware" humor, that is; I felt like Lunar went a little overboard here, occasionally robbing dramatic or pivotal scenes of their impact by deflating them with jokes)

That's about it. I'll include a list of titles I've already played:

>Chrono Trigger (loved it)
>Suikoden I&II (loved them)
>Sword of Mana (enjoyed it)
>the Ys games (mixed bag, but mostly enjoyable with Ys II being my favorite)
>Arc the Lad I-III (wasn't too crazy about the combat and the dungeon puzzles, but everything else I loved)

Thanks in advance for any and all recommendations.

>> No.4953615

>>4953472
even if these games don't 100% fit your criteria, they mostly fit in and you might still really enjoy them:

play these for sure:
lunar 2 (duh...playstation or sega cd)
grandia 1 (playstation)
grandia 2 (dreamcast or semi recent pc version)
albert odyssey (sega Saturn...will actually emulate 100%)


some others you might still enjoy:

star ocean :second story (playstation)

golden sun 1 and 2 (game boy advance...but does have some puzzles but not hard at all).

final fantasy 2, 3 (snes)
final fantasy 7,8,9 (playstation)

chrono cross (playstation...just don't go in thinking of it as a direct sequel.)


tons of other classic rpgs but I tried to list ones that are the best.

if you don't mind ps2 try dragon quest 8. also suikoden 5 is another fine game on ps2.

>> No.4953624

>>4953615
Is Grandia 2 different from the first one in terms of overall tone? I've tried getting into the first a couple of times, but I was put off by the humor.

The Golden Sun titles I've already played (and massively enjoyed). I simply forgot to mention them.

>albert odyssey
Never even heard of this one. Thanks a lot.

>> No.4953628

>>4953624
grandia 2 is different in tone.

instead of a young boy becoming an adventurer, you play as a bodyguard of some sort. 2 does get into religion but it's not preachy. give it a try.

grandia 1 is slow to start. the beginning when you're running around doing kid shit is kind of lame. but I swear the game gets better. it's from game arts (the same studio that did lunar).

other games I forgot to mention is phantasy star 4. love that game but the spell names are annoying at first because you'll wonder what does what.

skies of arcadia is also fantastic but the gamecube version is much less grindy that the dreamcast version...which has a terrible random encounter rate.

>> No.4953718

>>4953628
Thanks for all the recommendations. I might actually give Grandia 1 another try, then. I loved the visual style of the game, and if you say that the beginning isn't really representative of its quality, I might have simply jumped the gun on this one too early.

>> No.4953823
File: 14 KB, 320x240, lunar-eternal-blue_1.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4953823

>>4953718
I typically don't recommend Grandia since it's dungeons are all super boring and straightforward, but that might be a plus to you.

If you play Lunar 2 (better than Silver Star
) make sure to play the Sega CD version. The remakes are kind of ass by comparison.

You might also like Popolocrois...

>> No.4954378

Grandia has moderately complex combat mechanics I don't know if that's enough to turn off OP. It's weird that inconsistent party spoiled Lunar and yet he loved Suikoden. I guess he probably chose to keep his party very consistent. I feel like maybe he might want to check out some VNs.

>> No.4954381

Legend of Dragoon

>> No.4954681

>>4953472
FF6

>> No.4954685

>>4953615
>albert odyssey
You shit stirring troll, that game is fucking garbage.

>> No.4954854

>>4953472
I think you would really like Tales of Destiny. Phantasia is pretty good too.

>> No.4955303

OP here again.

>>4954378
>I feel like maybe he might want to check out some VNs.
Absolutely not. I may have downplayed my interest in combat for brevity's sake, but I really do enjoy RPG combat, whether it's more action focused like in Ys or Chrono Trigger, or fully turn-based like in the Suikoden games. I only wanted to exclude combat-*focused* games, like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea.

>It's weird that inconsistent party spoiled Lunar and yet he loved Suikoden. I guess he probably chose to keep his party very consistent.
One of the major problems I had with the way Lunar did it was that I had absolutely no control over the departure of the members, which led to me often reloading just to take all crucial equipment (like the unique rings) off of them, which in turn would sometimes diminish the impact of emotionally strong story points. This was rarely ever the case in Suikoden, where the composition of the party was mostly up to me. The other problem was, of course, that I simply would have liked to keep a consistent team, especially since Lunar is so heavily focused on friendship and characters depending on one another.

>> No.4955313

Phantasy Star IV

>> No.4955317

>>4953472
Mother and Earthbound don't tick all your boxes, but they definitely fit the creative story part.

>> No.4955336

>>4953472
>writing that takes itself seriously (no genre parody or "self-aware" humor, that is; I felt like Lunar went a little overboard here, occasionally robbing dramatic or pivotal scenes of their impact by deflating them with jokes)
that's just that distasteful clown victor ireland forcing his inflated ego into the WD games.

>> No.4955343

breath of fire III (ps)
breath of fire IV (ps)
final fantasy V (snes)
xenogears (ps)
dragon quest V (snes)

why haven't you played all the final fantasy games yet, anyway?

>> No.4955454
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4955454

>>4954854
This is a good suggestion. RPG with fun action combat. Just steer clear of "Destiny 2" Tales of Eternia.

>> No.4955521

>>4955303
>Absolutely not. I may have downplayed my interest in combat for brevity's sake, but I really do enjoy RPG combat, whether it's more action focused like in Ys or Chrono Trigger, or fully turn-based like in the Suikoden games. I only wanted to exclude combat-*focused* games, like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea.

You might actually really like Shining Force.

>> No.4955657

>>4953472
Final Fantasy X.

>> No.4955708

>>4955454
Why? ToE isn't even bad

>> No.4955731
File: 101 KB, 413x700, Lunar_-_Eternal_Blue_(U)_(Front).jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4955731

>>4953472
>>4953615
Entirely non facetiously, Lunar 2. It is a better version of Lunar. The same charm is there, but the story is better, the characters are better, bosses are better, everything.

If you liked Lunar but though it could have been a bit better, Lunar 2 is that game.

I recommend the Sega CD version. I played both versions around the same time, and the Sega CD version has better artwork and better pacing. Playstation version has budget anime cutscenes (bad art, low detail), whereas the Sega CD version has animated pixel art cutscenes that look great. Because there's no random encounters in the Playstation version, it feels rushed, and you won't get attached to characters like Lucia, because you won't be doing long dungeons with her. Playstation version isn't terrible, but if you choose it you'll probably wonder why I recommended it.

>> No.4956301

>>4955708
I think it's a turd compared to the first two games.

>> No.4956320

thinking of trying these once I get my segacd running finally: https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=23436.0

>> No.4957516

>>4956320
Highly recommended. Second game is much better but first is still worth playing.