I'm debating on buying a new system, and while the kids want GC for all the Mario titles, I'm the one with the cash so we'll be buying what daddy wants. :-)

So what's the best RPG out there? I see LOTS of titles, but I'm not sure which system/titles to pursue.

Can any of you hardcore gamers make some recommendations on titles, also compare them to PC games so I have a frame of reference.

Thanks!
Beno.

PS2 is the best choice overall. Final Fantasy X and a few other minor RPGs. Plus Kingdom Hearts, Saga Frontier 3, and Wild Arms 3 on the way. The PS2 like the PSone will end up with the most RPG choices.

Xbox has Morrowind which is a PC type open ended RPG. Thats about all though.

Game Cube has Lost Kingdom and some kind of Final Fantasy title on the way.

Morrowind has gotten very good reviews and is like most PC RPGs. If you prefer the PC type American RPGs to the console type Japanese RPGs this might be the game for you.

Lost Kindoms is a unique RPG. You use cards to battle with. Its an okay RPG, but not woth buying a Gamecube for.

Final Fantasy X is a classic Square cinematic RPG. Great story line, turned based combat system, linear story line. The Japanese RPGs don't have the freedom of the American ones, but the usually have a much better story, better battle system, and lots of secrets, mini games, etc.

Its really about what you prefer, but the PS2 will have by far the most choices.

Morrowind defenitely tops all the RPGs on the console market. I have it on the PC, but from what I've seen the xbox version is nearly as good (just can't get some of the keen add-ons that folks make). If you're not intimidated by a huge world and very open-ended play, then Morrowind is your best bet for RPGs on a console. (If you don't mind gaming on your PC, I would have to advise you to get the PC version over the Xbox version)

For sheer amount though, go with the PS2... especially with Kingdom Hearts coming out. I personally couldn't decide so I got an xbox and kept my PS2... with Animal Crossing coming I may end up with a GameCube as well, who knows.

~Scheherazade

If you are primarilly a RPG gamer, than PS2 is the system for you. Plus, there's the new Kingdom Hearts RPG which would be great for you and the kids (basically Final Fantasy meets Disney).

I'm not big on RPGs, but it seems to me like everyone has a different idea of what an RPG is. I consider the final fantasy games to be platformer adventure games with turn based combat. I guess it's easier to call them RPGs though.

I'd say all 3 consoles have different types of RPG games to suit different tastes. Morrowind is a true RPG. Xbox does have alot of RPGs coming out... This is by no means a complete list, and some of these may not even be an RPG (found this list at IGN), and some are more something else than RPG. If I knew more about RPGs, I'd have a better list.

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Crimson Sea
Dungeons and Dragons Heroes
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Ex Chaser
Fate RPG
Gaia Blade
Ghost Master
Gladius Fighting
Otogi
Phantasy Star Online
Shenmue II
Shining Lore Online
Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Final Fantasy X is my pick. I'm a very casual RPG player, so I loved it's linear nature, and not having to wander around on an overworld figuring out where to go next.

Kingdom Hearts will likely be great, if you can get past the Disney characters.

If you're a fan of open ended, do anything you want, follow the main path or do other stuff, etc. type games, then you'd dig morrowind. Personally, being a very casual RPG fan, I hate these type of games.

PS2 has way more RPGs - same story with the list above... IGN...

.hack
Angel's Present - Marle Kingdom Story
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits
Atelier Lillie
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Black & White Next Generation
Breath of Fire V
Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse
Dark Cloud
Dark Cloud 2
Dragonkind Adventure
Dual Hearts
Dungeons and Dragons Heroes
Ephemeral Fantasia
Eternal Ring
Evergrace
EverQuest Online Adventures Online RPG
Fengshen Yanyi: Legends of Gods and Heroes
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy XI Persistent Online RPG
Forever Kingdom
Gladius
Grandia II
Grandia Xtreme
Growlanser II
Growlanser III
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
Jade Cocoon 2
King's Field: The Ancient City
Kingdom Hearts
Klonoa Heroes: Legend of the Star Medal
Legaia 2: Duel Saga
Lunatic Dawn Tempest
Monster Rancher 3 Battle
Nobunaga's Ambition Online
Okage: Shadow King
Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
Popolocrois Hajimari no Bouken
Rakugaki Kingdom
Rakugaki Oukoku
Seven - The Cavalry of Molmorth
Shadow Hearts
Skies of Arcadia
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided Persistent Online RPG
Suikoden III
Summoner
Summoner 2
Sunrise Eiyutan
Tales of Destiny 2
The Legend of Alon D'ar
Times of Trouble
Tsugunai: Atonement
Unlimited SaGa
Warriors of Might and Magic
Wild ARMS 3
Wizardry: Tales of the Forsaken Land
X-Men RPG
Xenosaga

Am I mistaken, or wasn't the PS2 version of this cancelled?

I don't know - you'll have to take that up with IGN.

Yep, the PS2 port of Skies of Arcadia was cancelled.

The PS2 is getting Skies of Arcadia 2 though.

I'd go with a PS2, not only are there tons of great RPG's but there's also GTA: Vice City which you'll be kicking yourself for not getting when it comes out (don't let your kids play it though). I love rpg's.

Here's what I'm looking forward to

PS2:
Kingdom Hearts
.hack
Xenosaga
Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time
Suikoden III
Wild Arms 3
Unlimited Saga

Gamecube:
Skies of Arcadia Legend
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicle
Animal Crossing
Phantasy Star Online (maybe....not quite sure about the whole online thing though).

All these will be keeping you busy for at least 5 years .

Yeah - that's the thing... it's not how many RPGs there are, it's how many good ones. A good RPG should keep you busy for a long long time and if it doesn't, then it's not all that good. Just pick the console that has the most games in your top 10 most awesome looking list.

Plus with the PS2 you can play the past Final Fantasy RPGs.

Something even the Casual Gamers must NOT pass up.

FF7
FF8
FF9
FF Tactics
FF Anthology (FF5 and FF6)
And the FF4/Chrono Trigger combo.

Dated graphics, maybe.
Excelent Stories, Definately.

I bought Final Fantasy X for PS2, based on the rave reviews. Completely Hated It. To call that game a RPG is a travesty. Watching 5 minutes of cutscenes to every minute or linear, "dragged from point A to point B" gameplay isn't fun in my book. Sure the graphics are great, but the story and characters are completely gay. (All this is IMHO, of course). I just like to warn those people who think they are getting a real "RPG", to think about renting FFX first. I know I was very disappointed in it.

I never liked turn-based combat platformers like Final Fantasy... I think that series isn't for everyone. I also don't think they are quite RPGs. It's a good point though for fans of that type of game. It should be noted though that the next FF game seems to have alot of fans peeved cuz it's online.

FFX is the best game ever I disagree with the "completely gay" comment. Heh.

I don't think Kingdom Hearts is really a kids game.

I'd like to see a kid beat Sephiroth. Or the friggin' Phantom. Good luck, little Timmy.

I found Morrowind Xbox to be the the best RPG on the console market. I like how huge the game is and how you can free roam the whole game and not walking on rails like PS2 games. Plus It'll keep you plenty busy till the rest of the RPG's come out. Plus I feel that its a move backwards for me to keep buying games for the PS2 with it's "yesterdays" graphics.

I've never gotten bored with Morrowind unlike all the Final Fantasy titles I've played

i'm a real fan of Bump-Mapping and have been spoiled by the graphics on the Xbox.

The future is brighter for the Xbox.

Comparing Final Fantasy to Morrowind is like comparing Apples to Oranges.

I love both.


Morrowind is more like your classic "Nerd" RPG where you roll the dice and quaff the ale with the wenches.

Final Fantasy is more like a playable movie. Much like Metal Gear Solid (1+2) are playable spy movies. The point of the games existence is its story. It is Story Driven. Its Linier because, like a book or movie, it had a complete, cohesive, non-negotiable plot.

Games like Baldersgate and Morrowind are not like this. they have "Check Points" of Plot and the rest is up to the player. The primary story is muddled and foggy but thats ok, because the purpose of the game is not to tell a story but to let the players BE something they are not.



Like I said, I love both.
But they are vastly difrent.

People who love Morrowind/Balder'sGate type RPGs aren't after an epic movie/novel style story. They are after gameplay, experiencing a world, and freedom of choice.

People who love Final Fantasy games and not Morrowind/BG RPGs don't want Meaningless villigers talking about thier daily lives, 40 towns to visit at any time and only one of those towns MIGHT progress the main plot a little, or reading a 300 page manual before understanding the game.
Instead they want a cast of characters that have depth and a definate past that plays into the MAIN PLOT of the story, often times coming back to haunt them. They want a cohesive, CONSTANTLY MOTIVATED plot that leads up to a climax and resolution. They want a simplified combat system that offers GREAT depth with almost no learning curve to speak of.



To call ether style of game "Gay" is to be Incredibly immature and rather BLIND.


I think Morrowind is one of the greatest games of the new age of gaming.
However I also feel that Final Fantasy has given me the top ten most memoriable moments in my gaming life. (The end of Disk 1, FF7 holds spot #1. The ending movie to FF10 is #2. The opera Sceen from FF6 is #3. None of those tear inducing moments would have been posible without a movie style plot.)

Completely agree with Brinstar. It's all up to your tastes.

I love both western and Japanese rpg's. They're both very refreshing and have their own different styles.

Those are some very insightful comments by Brinstar. Every RPGer should understand that stuff before talking about these games. I agree completely, although I'm not much for the FF series and its ilk, I can't stand linear-movie-games although I like to drool over the graphics.

Exactly What I said:
"Sure the graphics are great, but the story and characters are completely gay. (All this is IMHO, of course)"

I never said the style of the game is gay, and I ended my comment with IMHO, to show that I was just expressing my opinion, and that my opinion is not necessarily the only valid opinion out there.

I think calling people "incredibly immature" and "blind" for expressing what was clearly stated as being an OPINION, is quite lame, IMHO.

Oh, and I still stand by my original opinion.