Ever an RPG better than Grandia II?

[Asura]

One that I don't think gets much mention online is Riviera: The Promised Land.

I really liked it, though not for the usual reasons. It's an RPG where you don't "move" as such. Like if you're in a room, you select which exit you want to use to move to the next room, or select from a list of actions to do in the room, like a point-and-click.

It might seem a bit odd and disconnected, but this idea made it a superb handheld RPG.

There were no random battles either. Instead, you used a menu option to "practice" fighting, so you could grind and level whenever you wanted.

Plus it had really nice artwork on the GBA (not sure whether the PSP version was just upscaled).

[Team Andromeda]

Well I really like Grandia II on the DC and found it was Skies that was a tad overrated on the system (it went on for far too long) . I just have to say that nothing beats the Lunars on the Mega CD for me (not even the Saturn or PS ports compare) . Lunar 2 is just a masterpiece and GameArts at their best .

[sj33]

I also don't think Grandia II is really all that bad really. It still has the excellent battle system, great music, interesting locations etc. It's just that the story is pretty flat, the characters are uninspiring, and it lacks the 'grand' feel of the original game. Definitely complete Grandia II, then go back to the original.

I quite like the Lunar games in all honesty, though I do think they feel a tad dated next to Grandia. Grandia is just brilliant.

Skies of Arcadia is a funny one. Initially, you wonder what all the fuss is about - the battle system feels a tad clunky, the random battles are overdone, and the initial opening area isn't very inspiring. But things click into place once you start exploring the world, is so charming with such character, with such a variety of locations, and so big for the time. It feels like what Wind Waker was trying to be, but fell short. The random battles issue is supposedly fixed in the GameCube release, which is good to head.

[k0pp0]

Already mentioned.

[nakamura]

One that I don't think gets much mention online is Riviera: The Promised Land.

I really liked it, though not for the usual reasons. It's an RPG where you don't "move" as such. Like if you're in a room, you select which exit you want to use to move to the next room, or select from a list of actions to do in the room, like a point-and-click.

It might seem a bit odd and disconnected, but this idea made it a superb handheld RPG.

There were no random battles either. Instead, you used a menu option to "practice" fighting, so you could grind and level whenever you wanted.

Plus it had really nice artwork on the GBA (not sure whether the PSP version was just upscaled).

A lovely game indeed.

[S3M]

I also don't think Grandia II is really all that bad really. It still has the excellent battle system, great music, interesting locations etc. It's just that the story is pretty flat, the characters are uninspiring, and it lacks the 'grand' feel of the original game. Definitely complete Grandia II, then go back to the original.

I quite like the Lunar games in all honesty, though I do think they feel a tad dated next to Grandia. Grandia is just brilliant.

Completely agree, only thing I will say is that Grandia is Lunar III in all but name, which is why it improves on all the gameplay system. Only thing I will say is the final battle at the end of Grandia is a major let down, from a design point of view it doesn't look finished, did wonder if Game Arts ran out of disc space, ending was great but the last hour of play time is a bit of a let down.

One of the few Saturn games to sell over a million units also and that it was release only in Japan which said something.

Sega Saturn - Magic Knight Rayearth is also worth a pick up.

Ones to avoid however:
Lagoon - SNES (Average Zelda clone)
JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - Volume 1 - SNES (Very average game)
Airs Adventure - Saturn (Terrible RPG one of the worse Saturn games)

Should also point out here's a link to the huge RPG thread we did a few years back still relevant today.

http://www.bordersdown.net/threads/49497-Classic-RPG-discussion-thread

[MrKirov]

That's because I thought they were rubbish. The battle systems were excellent but they featured some of the most heinous scripts and characters in RPG history.

I will never forget that hideous old lady story from the first game. Pity as I loved the setting. The humour just didn't work at all.

I loved you once :*(

[nakamura]

Haha. I just have extremely high standards.....

[MrKirov]

They were brilliant!! The camp story made he game far more enjoyable and less po faced than your typical fantasy yarn.

[nakamura]

But it was a poorly written story. If you are going to be so daring you need to nail it.

It's like that infamous FFX whistling scene!

[speedlolita]

Whistling?

Don't you mean

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

[nakamura]

Yes sorry!!

Awful

[MrKirov]

Terrible writing amuses me greatly though. Tales has endlessly bad stories and writing but you never hear anyone whining about them haha!

sorry...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

[S3M]

I quite like the Shadow Hearts series they have some nice concept behind them MrKirov I take it you played the first game in the series which is the unpronounceable PS1 game Koudelka. The third game Shadow Hearts: From the New World, was the one I most enjoyed.

Terrible writing amuses me greatly though. Tales has endlessly bad stories and writing but you never hear anyone whining about them haha!

I agree there a large number of the Tales games are utter rubbish, some have been brillant others total rubbish Namco can't keep the quality together.

[nakamura]

I have Shadow Hearts 3 left to play and that looks better.

Tales Mr Kirov? Yeah they aren't that good either. Messy battle systems and rubbishs plots.

I've just tried to reach the stage of not commenting on negative things. However I have gushed enough for it to be allowed.