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Post by Ex on May 31, 2022 13:41:31 GMT -5
I'm wondering if there have been any 10+ year old RPGs (WRPGs/JRPGs/SRPGs/DRPGs whatever sub-genre) you've played that offered idyllic escapism. I mean that when you played this RPG, you felt lost in its world (in a good way) and enjoyed the narrative. To the point that when playing the RPG, your mind easily put aside real-life bothers, and instead you were wholly sucked into the gaming experience. So basically any RPGs you've played that had sustained and enveloping escapism throughout their duration. I don't necessarily mean the gameplay was great, or the combat system was cool, or the graphics were outstanding. I'm specifically talking about the holistic escapism factor in and of itself here.
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Personally I can think of a few, but I will save my answers for later after others have posted.
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Post by Xeogred on May 31, 2022 23:34:11 GMT -5
2020: 1. Vagrant Story (PSX) - Straight up feels like a 32bit Souls game, in all the right ways. You, a lone warrior, traversing an abandoned city, exploring labyrinths, and all kinds of crazy underground temples. This is my happy place. 2. Front Mission 3 (PSX) - The FM vibes are just so good, I wish I could live there and would have some kind of job working on mecha. Although their bars are really cool too. 3. Dragon Quest III (SNES) - The charm this game oozes is something else. Incredible graphics, probably still my favorite DQ OST, and just such an incredible journey. Even if the story/character development is minuscule in DQ3, its world is just so joyous to be in and explore. 5. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PS4) - The story falls short in the long run, but FF12 technically blew my mind back in the day and again in 2020. This world feels so lived in, NPC's are cluttered up in towns doing their own thing. The aesthetic is Vagrant Story on steroids, with more Hitoshi Sakitmoto goodness on the ears. I loved being in this world and had such a fun time there.
2021:1. SMT3 - My first SMT and a departure from the JRPG norm that I've experienced. I don't mean to exaggerate, but this game was revolutionary to me personally. I still don't seek out contemporary/modern RPG's outside of like Yakuza, but SMT's apocalyptic spin on things makes it fascinating to explore these dead modern worlds. Not to mention the accuracy to Japan (from what I gather) and how different it is from my West ubringing. I couldn't get enough of SMT's aesthetic and gritty world. 2. Dragon Quest 8 - This may take the cake for this entire list. DQ8 is one of the most beautifully whimsical gaming experiences of my life. I loved these characters, the world, the art, the music, the story... and like some other games on this list, as a hardcore retro/modern gamer, I could not believe that DQ8 was on the PS2. The scope of this game is utterly mindblowing and truly feels like all those 16bit JRPG's fully realized in a huge realistic world sized stage to play in. It's so hard to decide if I like DQ8 more than SMT3 or not for 2021. I may give it to SMT3 for the gameplay and challenge, but man... the VIBES of DQ8 were supreme, straight up immaculate. I get chills now just thinking about this game. I never wanted it to end, because I seriously felt a bit melancholic the closer I got to rolling credits and knowing that it would have to end at some point. It's rare for a game to hit that deep. I can never forget how fun it was to explore every single town and non-combat zone in DQ8 as well. How often can you say that about an RPG? You're often just running through the motions when you get to a new town. But every town in DQ8 was oozing with its own personality and backstory, its own layout and graphics. This is one of the most believably lived in gaming worlds ever created.
3. Phantasy Star 4 - Blitz pacing compared to a lot of JRPG's, though maybe not for its time with 15-20 hours being common in the 16bit era. But it's crazy how much PSIV covers with zero fluff and the sci-fi layering on fantasy was such a cool combo. Loved the gameplay, characters, story, dungeons, graphics, everything. I will replay PSIV someday for sure. 4. Front Mission 4 5. Dragon Quest 6 6. Tomb Raider II 7. Parasite Eve 8. King's Field II - Much like SMT3, my body and mind was not ready for such a densely unique experience that was KF2. Still my favorite of the five KF/ST games I've beaten. I can still hear so many of the tracks playing in my head. The 3D graphics are archaic but it has that charming surreal vibe to it like Quake and Thief to me, where things don't look quite human or realistic, but consistently fitting in their own unique worlds. Together with Shadow Tower, the father of Demon's Souls... doesn't get much more unique that this. 2022 WIP:
1. King's Field III (PSX) - King's Field goes HUGE. This was such an adventure of epic proportions coming off the other games.
3. Parasite Eve II (PSX) - Really enjoyed PE1, but I liked how PE2 was more down to Earth. When I think back to this one after beating it now, the New Mexico motel area sticks out the most. I really enjoyed that area and it was different from the RE clone norm.
11. Ico (PS3) - Well this goes along with Souls, Vagrant Story, SMT, etc in being kind of an oppressively lonely journey with you and a girl you can't communicate with verbally stuck in a towering island dungeon... yeah I love that. Everything these games have in common is that they truly pull me into their worlds and demand 100% of my attention and focus, which isn't always easy to do in our hyper modern society with so many distractions. So yeah, I'd love to live in many of these games if I could have haha.
For something newer... Elden Ring, 1000%.
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Post by toei on Jun 1, 2022 18:15:44 GMT -5
I got completely lost in Phantasy Star IV as a kid. Of course it was much easier to do then, and I got lost in most RPGs I played. But I still think worldbuilding is one of the OG Phantasy Star quadrilogy's strength - it follows a whole solar system through millennia, with multiple different peoples and everything. But I still feel this to a lesser degree with every decent RPG I play, however rare it's become.
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Post by Sarge on Jun 1, 2022 20:51:34 GMT -5
The first one I can think of off the top of my head is The Last Story. I got such huge Final Fantasy VI/Chrono Trigger vibes at spots that it was just incredibly engrossing to me the entire way. (And obviously, those two games count as well.) Another where I just got sucked into the world was Valkyrie Profile. As gorgeous as the second game was, it never quite measured up on either front to the original. Truly top-tier (for that era) storytelling. I do agree that Dragon Quest VIII was a blast. Very whimsical, and I remember happily dumping many hours into it. If we want to get into the Western side of things, both KOTOR games and the Mass Effect trilogy were fun to explore both from a gameplay and plot perspective. If we want to go for a game that is pretty trash but the story and writing elevate it a bit, Shadow Madness was an interesting play. And I also ended up enjoying the storytelling in Black Sigil as well, even if it didn't do anything amazing. 16-bit SquareSoft really had a knack for fun plotlines, though. Gun Hazard was great, and so was Treasure of the Rudras. I agree with toei that Phantasy Star IV was superb in that regard, and the series really did have some excellent world-building. |
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Post by paulofthewest on Jun 2, 2022 15:53:24 GMT -5
I tried, but can't understand the escapism thing.
The ones I've enjoyed the most are Disgaea 3 & 5 (okay Disgaea 5 is only 7 years old.) Probably as a kid it would be Final Fantasy, FFVI, Chrono Trigger, and Paper Mario the thousand year door.
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Post by Sarge on Jun 2, 2022 16:44:52 GMT -5
I think the "escapism", at least as I understand it, is being drawn into the world and story. Kind of like how Star Wars fans can lose themselves in that particular universe. Or getting pulled into a particularly good novel. It's not necessarily looking for said escape, but that said universe drew you in enough that you were invested in the tale being told.
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Post by Ex on Jun 2, 2022 20:36:52 GMT -5
I meant the term by the dictionary definition: Basically enjoying media to the point which you forget about real life while doing so. You're so blissfully distracted that your current real life anxieties or concerns melt away into obliviousness. This could happen watching a film, reading a book, or perhaps playing a video game RPG. RPGs that actually did that for me are very rare. Sure, I've played many great RPGs, but not all of them could consistently distract me from back burner worries. I'm still ruminating over which RPGs did create that level of escapism for me. I'll likely post my choices tomorrow. |
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Post by Sarge on Jun 2, 2022 20:58:28 GMT -5
To be honest, I'm not sure there's anything that distracts me enough if I'm going through really rough stuff.
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Post by Ex on Jun 2, 2022 21:16:54 GMT -5
I don't mean distracting you from super serious stuff like a death in the family or you lost your job.
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Post by Sarge on Jun 2, 2022 21:32:10 GMT -5
Ah, right. Although I wasn't thinking quite that serious, but I do know worry about family health issues will take me out of the fray, for instance. But yeah, if it's normal stuff like job stress or the like, games are a welcome distraction.
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