RPGs where you blissfully escaped into its world and story?
Jun 3, 2022 10:02:35 GMT -5
Post by Ex on Jun 3, 2022 10:02:35 GMT -5
Okay, these are my top 5 for this qualifier. These are RPGs I played that managed to immerse me in their worlds and/or narratives, to the point that I largely thought of nothing else while playing them:
Fallout New Vegas - Ultimate Edition
King's Field II (which is actually King's Field III renamed)
It's no secret on HRG that I'm a big fan of KF. After years of egging Xeogred he too became a fan. And even Sarge enjoyed KF4. For me it was KF3 that takes the crown of the best game in the series. This is largely because of how huge and sprawling KF3 is, in comparison to the other more-succinct games in the series. There's just TONS of ground to explore in KF3. Its open areas feed into caves that feed into ruins that feed into dungeons and back out to a lake or a canyon land. You just never know what you'll find while wandering KF3. What you will always find is rewarding exploration hour after hour.
Aside from these RPGs, I have played many other RPGs that I consider very good or excellent even. Some like Vagrant Story or SMT3 or Demon's Souls, are arguably better than any of the games listed above. But they didn't quite immerse me the same way as these did.
Skies of Arcadia Legends
Pure joie de vivre exploring a land of open sky and floating islands (as in floating in air). I always love the "floating islands" theme whenever RPGs use it. Notice I'm recommending the Legends version, not the Dreamcast original with its ridiculous encounter rate.
Final Fantasy XII
I wouldn't be able to nail down exactly why, but there's something truly magical about FF12's world, to the point that when I play this game I'm just utterly absorbed into its environs. FF12 just plays so exquisitely smoothly, with interaction so smartly streamlined, that the barrier between the player and world exploration is completely dissolved. I also adore Ivalice in general, it's the best fantasy world Square's ever made. I won't however, defend FF12's 'eh whatever plot. But if I'm being honest, the only FF with a plot that was worth a damn was FF6's. So FF12 is hardly an outlier in that regard.
Fallout New Vegas - Ultimate Edition
I explored every inch of this game's world, and I do mean every inch. There was stark beauty in this wasteland, with secrets to plunder and sidequests to discover at a consistent drip rate. Wandering the irradiated deserts and dire ruins of civilization kept my mind blissfully distracted for over a hundred hours.
King's Field II (which is actually King's Field III renamed)
It's no secret on HRG that I'm a big fan of KF. After years of egging Xeogred he too became a fan. And even Sarge enjoyed KF4. For me it was KF3 that takes the crown of the best game in the series. This is largely because of how huge and sprawling KF3 is, in comparison to the other more-succinct games in the series. There's just TONS of ground to explore in KF3. Its open areas feed into caves that feed into ruins that feed into dungeons and back out to a lake or a canyon land. You just never know what you'll find while wandering KF3. What you will always find is rewarding exploration hour after hour.
Phantasy Star
So I played this game originally when I was 9 years old, and beat it when I was 10. There's surely some nostalgia as a result. That said, for its time there was nothing like Phantasy Star (I consider it the greatest 8-bit JRPG). All other accolades aside, exploring its world was amazing. Because you actually explored different planets, each with their own ecosystems and cultures, and then there's the dungeons. The dungeons are first person, but rather than moving space-by-space, the move smoothly in real-time (an amazing accomplishment given the hardware and time). Sure it was easy to be immersed in video games as a pre-teen kid, but PS1 took that immersion to a whole new level. When I played this game, I was IN this game. I can't objectively say if that would be the case today, but given that Sega abandoned true Phantasy Star after the (outstanding) fourth entry, I doubt we'll see a remake anytime soon. I still recommend this game to newcomers even today, with the caveat that the beginning is grindy for an hour or two, but smooths out after that.
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Aside from these RPGs, I have played many other RPGs that I consider very good or excellent even. Some like Vagrant Story or SMT3 or Demon's Souls, are arguably better than any of the games listed above. But they didn't quite immerse me the same way as these did.