What kind of Role Playing Games do you like and how do you play them?

[Sonic Angel Knight]

For the record, I'm not asking for a tutorial or explanation on how to play the game. I'm asking your preferred way to play through them. Of course, your first time playing will probably be different than your next time or your 10+ times playing the same game. But I just got curious about asking. For some who don't know, Role Playing Games or RPG are a genre of games where you commonly play as characters that can be flexible in the way they develop their combat abilities by the player. I say that because while some games allow the player to choose a "Class or Role" as a starting point for their character, it most likely will be a reflection of how they choose to play the game. But some games will instead give you characters with their class & role intact, and it's up to the player to use it conduct the team on how to best use them.

I hope I'm not making it as complicated as it sounds. It all depends on the game honestly, and trying to explain each and every one of them wouldn't be the point of this post. To make it easy, is just the games where you can gain experience points to strengthen your character's stats. Use gold to buy useful battle items or gear to further improve your stats. What makes this kind of gameplay unique from other games is the importance of your stat levels, strategy, or exploiting enemy weakness during combat. In other words, you use your brain way more for preparation before you even get to the combat zone. Though I wanted to make it easy to understand, more experienced people will know is way more than that already.

To be honest, I feel the genre is still struggling in the market. It is true that there is many games of the type that exist in many areas of the world, it was no easy task to be popular in some regions. While I wouldn't call myself a RPG fan personally, I don't dislike the genre. But there is many games of that kind that I don't like more than I do. It's a complex thing that many other people will tell you when sharing opinions. It's easy to see when people discuss "Best game in series" which is already a huge divide in opinions even when the list to compare is smaller than because of the series's restriction.

So just curious if anyone would like to share some of their kinds of RPG games are. I'm not really asking for your favorite of all time, so you don't have to pick one. Just what are the different kinds do you like or dislike? How do you go about playing them. I can tolerate turn based games like Breath of Fire but only if the pacing is good. Action ones like Secret of Mana are fun because it's more about me feeling more in control of my character and because of that, I can use skill more than my thinking. It's almost like a fighting game at that point, but still limited by RPG elements. I have played tactic games like Final Fantasy Tactics, but I prefer Shining Force for being more simple to understand from Story to the gameplay. Just some examples of what I am looking for.

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Sometimes I like to dress up as a doctor...

I kid I kid mostly I like to grind a lot of levels and just power through the games

 

[Ericthegreat]

jrpg

 

[FAST6191]

Leaving aside the difficulties in the term genre I figure there are four main variations on the theme

1) Japanese take
2) US take
3) European take
4) Russian take

I assume we all know the Japanese one. This is your classical spreadsheet, turn based or all but turn based, with predefined characters shuffled down a linear story.

US take is "we like dungeons and dragons but it is hard to find a game so let's make a computer game version of it", however as freedom is one aspect of D&D and similar systems it is always rather limited. Canada usually follows in this with it mostly being a cheaper place to make games than a lot of the US, though occasionally the French speaking parts can do some interesting stuff. These days you tend to get Elder Scrolls and things that want to be Elder Scrolls, which is fine but lacks something for me. Or perhaps it is more akin to the Mario Kart problem -- broadly competent but with everybody considering it some kind of gold standard it leads to pale imitations of already limited gameplay. That or I am just salty as the kids might say that Might and Magic was not the path taken and instead Elder Scrolls. I will give a nod to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning though. Likewise Deus Ex is good stuff.

European stuff is usually more tales around a campfire. There are some subtle differences between countries (some might even be tempted to split it down further but if you played Germany's best efforts you will tend to find yourself at home anywhere here). If I had to pick one it would be this. Be it things like Divinity, Gothic, Risen or the old school fallout stuff I will cover later. I will note I never got along with Fable at all.
Such things don't always do the best in the US -- the massive split in review opinion with Alpha Protocol probably being the best easily searchable example.

Russian stuff is more akin to European but at one point in time an awful lot more experimental (early 2000s to mid 360 lifetime I was seeing things tried out there I would not see until far later elsewhere), and as buggy as you like to match that one. You also get some interesting Russia meets Europe stuff in the places where Russia meets Europe. Today they do less than they once did but I will note it here anyway.


At all points, especially during the PS360, they all tried their hand at oddball takes and doing their take on other region's styles. Often these are my favourite and despite what I said above then the Asian efforts here are my favourites from recent times -- my big three such games being Eternal Sonata, Resonance of Fate and MagnaCarta 2 (though that is technically Korean). That said my favourite US style RPG from at all recent times would have to be Capcom's Dragon's Dogma, and before that it would have been Arx Fatalis.

I burned out super hard on Final Fantasy clones, especially the 16 bit variety, some point during the PS1 or PS2 (normally I said PS2 but looking back now there were indicators before that) so I tend not to bother with them. RPG elements was a buzzword for a while and like most buzzwords it amounted to a fad rather than a proper movement but still I like the idea of a proper fighting/shooting/exploration engine, or possibly a card game (Baten Kaitos for instance), with some meaningful progression mixed in more than spreadsheets. That said I am not opposed to things if they want to go all in on the spreadsheet and do a life sim if you want (I have previously harped on about Acadamageia).

Going further then old school fallout (today best represented with things like Underrail, Torment, Wasteland 2 and the various attempts at being or bringing back Baldur's Gate (note not the Dark Alliance series, though I am certainly not opposed to a good mouse killer/dungeon crawler, especially if it can be played co-op. Similarly the roguelike stuff is also of interest here).


That said if I can have a spear and shoot fireballs at all effectively then I will be doing that. If not you can bet I will be trying to game the system and probably prepare for most eventualities.

 

[Stwert]

I like to pretend I’m just home from a day down the coal mines. I rub myself all over with charcoal until I’m seriously dirty. Then the wife has to clean me up with a sponge - because my arms are too sore from shifting tons of coal.

So we both get naked in the shower, lather up and.... well, you can fill in the rest yourself.

 

[Taleweaver]

I... Better not say what kind of role playing games my girlfriend and me play

Spoiler

it involves ropes and whips

. So I'll focus on video games instead...

As far as the grand divide comes - action or turn based - I default to the former. Why? Because most rpg's have a fucking boring way of conveying their systems. Tactical battles on when to attack, defend, 'magic' and so on feel like work to me. While not turn based, borderlands is the prime example : guns with more stats than ammo. Other games let you level up stats you don't know when to use, if at all.

The classic fallout series (and to a much lesser extend : renowned explorers) manage to be great because the attributes make sense in a logical way. VATS has actions for things that matter, such as moving, reloading and shooting, because this is just time frozen while everyone actually moves almost simultaneously. Your hit chance depends on the distance and where you aim. How much damage depends on your weapon and where you aim. It's all intuitive. This also goes for SPECIAL, their areas of skill attribution. You can always use all skills, so you attribute according to your liking rather than what 'would be the most efficient way'. Granted : this latter only gets praise because the game let's you approach obstacles in different ways. In many games, you're just ticked if you don't pump up your fighting stats.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

So I'll focus on video games instead...

I'm glad you decided to focus on video games, because this is what this topic is about.

The classic fallout series (and to a much lesser extend : renowned explorers) manage to be great because the attributes make sense in a logical way. VATS has actions for things that matter, such as moving, reloading and shooting, because this is just time frozen while everyone actually moves almost simultaneously. Your hit chance depends on the distance and where you aim. How much damage depends on your weapon and where you aim. It's all intuitive. This also goes for SPECIAL, their areas of skill attribution. You can always use all skills, so you attribute according to your liking rather than what 'would be the most efficient way'. Granted : this latter only gets praise because the game let's you approach obstacles in different ways. In many games, you're just ticked if you don't pump up your fighting stats.

I didn't know fallout was a rpg, i thought it was a first person shooter like borderlands. But I guess if borderlands can be considered a rpg for it's heavy reliance on those types of tropes, then I guess any other "first person" game can be. Shows what I know about fallout.

 

[Skelletonike]

80% of my game collection consists of RPG's.

I love reading and the reason as to why I love RPG's is the same. The most important to me is a good plot, gameplay comes second. I do tend to refer turn based games though,

 

[Chary]

RPGs are such a wide umbrella term. But I dig most RPGs, so long as they're not the first-person tank controls dungeon style of RPG--mostly because the perspective gives me motion sickness.

You've got the CRPG, which is like, Baldur's Gate and Fallout, and with the revival of the genre, Wasteland 2, Divinity, and Pillars of Eternity. Really awesome, and almost always full of so much lore to dig through. You can play as multiple types of characters with different playstyles and get a completely different result. They're so deep, and usually incredibly varied.

Or you've got stuff like Diablo and Path of Exile, which are...looter RPGs? I'm not too familiar with these types of games, honestly. I don't dislike them, but I'm not really left wanting to play more games like them.

Then there's action shooter games with RPG elements, such as modern Fallout, Borderlands, Deux Ex, and those are some of my favorite types of game. I don't tend to like shooters outside of the genre, but games like these tend to mix the elements really well.

Or just replace guns with swords, for stuff like Witcher, Skyrim, etc.

Of course, my favorite type is the JRPG, but even then, that covers an insane amount of games, from the turn-based Persona and Final Fantasy games, to action based Tales of and Secret of Mana, strategy JRPGs like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem, and so on and so forth. I loathe playing older turn based games--even oldschool Pokemon was grating on me when I was playing it earlier. From random encounters, to the gameplay being so rote by the end that it's the same thing over and over and over and over, but in new locations, eek. But sometimes they're very worth it, like Persona 4 or Shin Megami Tensei, which have the press turn system and handle turn based stuff very well. Or stuff like FFVI where the story and characters are compelling enough to keep going.

The Tales series is also another one I really like, half for the high octane combat, and half because it's another really character-driven type of story. I always love those.

Strategy RPGs have a metric crapton of good games, from Fire Emblem, to the SMT spinoffs, Valkyria. Disgaea, FF Tactics, it's a packed genre full of awesome games.

 

[Stwert]

I'm glad you decided to focus on video games, because this is what this topic is about.

It is? Oops, talk about getting the wrong end of the stick, which incidentally.... nah, you can make your own joke with that one

 

[Taleweaver]

I didn't know fallout was a rpg, i thought it was a first person shooter like borderlands. But I guess if borderlands can be considered a rpg for it's heavy reliance on those types of tropes, then I guess any other "first person" game can be. Shows what I know about fallout.

What?! Fallout a first person shooter? Get off my internet, you!

Ahem... I was referring to fallout 1 and 2. 3 was okay but very different in that time just slowed when using VATS. If it was up to me, fallout 4 would have gone just the opposite direction that it went. And because they also limited speech options, I skipped it. As well as 76, which went in an even weirder direction (no npc's? That's like having tetris without tetrominos).

Borderlands at least always was and is a mix of both. Sure, the roles are a bit predefined, but the leveling system and the huge ass amount of guns are what makes it an rpg. More specific : to me, an rpg is when you've got many choices to make that influence your playing style.

But like 'fps' only says something of the game's perspective, rpg is only an aspect of a game that's hardly mutually exclusive. An aspect I'm not to fond of, by the way. I've played too many games where the leveling system is just a way to prolong game time ('if you keep playing and doing these mundane tasks, you might get a reward later').

 

[JuanMena]

Smash Ultimate is my favourite RPG (°u°)

 

[AmandaRose]

I like to pretend I’m just home from a day down the coal mines. I rub myself all over with charcoal until I’m seriously dirty. Then the wife has to clean me up with a sponge - because my arms are too sore from shifting tons of coal.

So we both get naked in the shower, lather up and.... well, you can fill in the rest yourself.

Oh a coal miner that is a new one I have never heard before certainly makes a change from the usual pizza delivery/electrician/plumber roles.

And with that I am now thinking is Mario really a plumber is Peach really a Princess are they just having a bit of fun together?? lol.

 

[Stwert]

Oh a coal miner that is a new one I have never heard before certainly makes a change from the usual pizza delivery/electrician/plumber roles.

And with that I am now thinking is Mario really a plumber is Peach really a Princess are they just having a bit of fun together?? lol.

The wife actually does like it when I get dirty from working on something. I dunno, maybe it’s because I worked demolition when we met and came home cakit...... I share too much sometimes

Mario’s definitely deerty, Italian plumber, yeah, Peach gets plenty of mushroom kingdom pipe, you can guarantee that

 

[AmandaRose]

The wife actually does like it when I get dirty from working on something. I dunno, maybe it’s because I worked demolition when we met and came home cakit...... I share too much sometimes

Mario’s definitely deerty, Italian plumber, yeah, Peach gets plenty of mushroom kingdom pipe, you can guarantee that

The best thing about this post is we are probably the only two site members that understand what cakit means

 

[Hayato213]

JRPG

 

[Stwert]

The best thing about this post is we are probably the only two site members that understand what cakit means

Lol, so true, there’s going to be an offshoot where we have to translate for people

 

[sarkwalvein]

If we talk about more western style RPGs (I mean, those where you really can spec up on whatever type of gameplay you want and play the game in vastly different ways), then I generally try to go for stealth, I don't often try to do a no kill run, to be honest I am very murderous perhaps, but I prefer to be a silent murderer, something like "hey pal, what happened here? I just came out of the john and every other person has an arrow through their skulls".

I also tend to spec up on skill that would allow me to coerce and persuade.

If we talk about JRPGs, I do love them... but I am not very sure what to say about how I play them.
Hmmm... I usually aim for doing at least 80% of a game on my first (and usually only) playthrough.
Depending on the game I usually invest some 100-200 hours (I think I did something like 156 for Persona 5, 170 for Xenoblade, 140 for Xenoblade 2, and so on and so forth).
I tend to grind enough so that the game doesn't get superchallenging, but I don't like wasting to much time in grind either. So I would say I grind some average time.

I have a preference for games with some Sci-Fi side to it, Xenogears come to mind, but also Phantasy Star, Horizon Zero Dawn, etc. That said some of the more fantasy oriented titles are among my favorites, e.g. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Lufia.

I usually prefer action based RPG these days, but if it is a good turn based system it's also fine by me.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Ahem... I was referring to fallout 1 and 2. 3 was okay but very different in that time just slowed when using VATS. If it was up to me, fallout 4 would have gone just the opposite direction that it went. And because they also limited speech options, I skipped it. As well as 76, which went in an even weirder direction (no npc's? That's like having tetris without tetrominos).

So it seems that the first fallout game was not "First Person" and is vastly different than the more recent ones. Which I wasn't aware of. Everytime I see someone playing or talking about Fallout, is always a "First Person" game so my mistake.

Borderlands at least always was and is a mix of both. Sure, the roles are a bit predefined, but the leveling system and the huge ass amount of guns are what makes it an rpg. More specific : to me, an rpg is when you've got many choices to make that influence your playing style.

I tried playing Borderlands many times. I think it's unique for being a blend of FPS with RPG but it still makes me want to pull my hair out. I wouldn't call it complicated, but I feel at times I still don't understand everything. There is many weapons and stuff to get, but most of the time I spend fighting henchmen for long periods of time. Even though it makes sense that levels higher should have advantage, it seems like I'm never getting stronger to "steam roll" them within a reasonable time. Randomly Generated gun stats already sounds like luck, but the high damage weapons don't feel like higher damage at hard on harder difficulties.

 

[wormdood]

I tried playing Borderlands many times. I think it's unique for being a blend of FPS with RPG but it still makes me want to pull my hair out. I wouldn't call it complicated, but I feel at times I still don't understand everything. There is many weapons and stuff to get, but most of the time I spend fighting henchmen for long periods of time. Even though it makes sense that levels higher should have advantage, it seems like I'm never getting stronger to "steam roll" them within a reasonable time.

that's because of borderlands lack of traditional upgradeable stats like strength, defense, and speed ... in my opinion it's just a weak way of prolonging the game. gaining levels does not necessarily equal a power increase without these 3 attributes, instead they include a random stat random drop weapon system. In order to keep you not only limited in power, but also playing longer as you are left feeling weak without grinding for better variants or higher level versions your gear.

Randomly Generated gun stats already sounds like luck,

yep but the idea of luck is why casinos are a thing... I mean everyone likes to get lucky and also individually is coveted thing amongst people so why not in games, in the game world having a crappy version of say your favorite weapon may encourage you to try another weapon or grind. the first of which could give you a different experience when (re)playing the game while the latter leaves you with mixed feelings as you finally feel stronger but know as you level up you will need to grind it out again

the high damage weapons don't feel like higher damage at hard on harder difficulties.

yup borderlands is notorious for fake difficulty... they don't include things like better ai or better even enemy positioning instead they just pump up the numbers more enemies with higher health/shield/armor and stronger weapons on higher difficulty, also they now weaken popular equipment (for instance when borderlands 3 came out the legendary weapon the flakker did 1000-1600 base damage but they lowered it to 600-1000 base damage, and limited the clip size to 1 on average that's a 500% decrease in mag size...) these fake difficulties are my biggest gripe with the game

But all in all borderlands holds my favorite part of a rpg which is having a wide array of equipment with unique quarks to build something dramatically different from the base character ... my favorite example of this is moze going from 6000 health with 11000 shield up to 1 health and 90000 shield

I guess to say that I play RPGs like they were card games arranging and rearranging until the end result is a well oiled highly focused machine... it's so my goal that sometimes it satisfies me too much and I forget to actually finish the game lol... as such I don't enjoy many arpg games