Which CRPG has the best STORY? (Forked from: Do you not play WoW?)

[Merlin's Shadow]

Alright, stop jacking with my theory. It's a good one. >.<

Honestly you two are the first to ever dispute it, but I think you are also the first to say that you started with FFI.

anyway all this talk about FFX has me itching to break that one out again... Hmm.

Better make it a third person then. FFI was my first FF game, but FFVI is my favorite followed by FFVII and FFIV.

 

[Darkwolf71]

Yeah. I'm old school. I started video gaming when the Atari 2600 was brand spankin' new.

Adventure! FTW.

Sadly, I wasn't able to get a NES and only experienced the original Zelda at a friends house. I bought my SNES in the Navy and found the newly released FF4. Didn't play FFI untill it was repackaged and rereleased on the PS.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Started with FF Tactics.

Favorite is FFIV.

But really, I've got a soft spot for many parts of the various FF games.

#1 had that "twist" at the beginning and the end that established a bit of the mind-bending philosophy that would become staple.

#2 had a pretty epic plot, really, and a lot of drama and death. I think it was mostly marred by a pretty annoying (and abuse-prone) advancement system.

#3 was awesome for the way the party discovered new worlds, dramatically expanding on the game every few hours until it spiralled into something HUGE.

#4 I'm partial to because of the strong themes and the sense of loss and redemption that happens with many of the characters.

#5 has that "new worlds new vistas" feel that 3 did pretty well, and the job system again, but I was a fan of a few of the characters (Faris's whole arc is very interesting)

#6 has that wonderfully expansive cast and the series' first really awesome villain.

#7 has another awesome villain and a certain famous death scene.

#8 does a surprisingly nice job with the "memory loss" and "time travel" mind screws.

#9 has another great cast of characters and a really evocative setting.

#10 is gloriously plotted.

#11 again, has a surprisingly strong back story....it just takes forever to get to it in typical MMO mode.

#12 makes me feel part of a living, breathing world more strongly than the ones before it. And even though Vaan wasn't supposed to be the main character, it lends to that feel very nicely: you're not a great character, you are observing great characters in action.

 

[Darkwolf71]

Started with FF Tactics.

Favorite is FFIV.

Alright, y'all are just being mean now.
I'm gonna have to take my theory and go home.

#3 was awesome for the way the party discovered new worlds, dramatically expanding on the game every few hours until it spiralled into something HUGE.

III is the only game of the 'main' series I haven't played. I was very upset when they released it on the Nintendo DS instead of the PSP.

 

[frankthedm]

Could not stand FFTactics. Games that punish you for your experience kill my interest really really fast. Especially when it is the random encounters that are what are auto-scaled to you. I can see the merits of scaling boss battles, since last i checked, those are the ones that SHOULD matter. On the other hand, if the schlubs are piggy backing my XP total, I'm turning the game off. It would not be so bad if the enemies increased in numbers as my characters got better, but if that goblin gained 10 levels just because I gained 10 levels, that is a dealbreaker IMHO.

I also hear you get super characters in the last chapter that make any effort put into leveling allies pretty much pointless.

FF6 is a great game that has an alright story. The characters have a ~modest~ amount of depth, but hardly a 'best story ever' candidate.

 

[dragonlordofpoondari]

FO3 does not exist. It does not deserve its name. Oblivion with guns.

Nobody mentioned Arcanum?

I still think the best CRPG is Fallout 1. Period. No other game deserve be called RPG as FO1 and FO2...

I couldn't disagree more about FO3. It's a fantastic game. FO2 may have had a great story, but it was so buggy it was broken.

Two or three posters, myself included, have mentioned Arcanum upthread.

 

[kitsune9]

Planescape

There can be only one... Planescape:Torment.

(though I'm also terribly fond of the 1st console RPG I played, which would be Skies of Arcadia)

I was going to go with a couple of Japanese CRPG like FF, but yeah, this one really jumps out at me. This is the only CRPG that I've played three times from beginning to conclusion and just really enjoyed the story, the graphics, and dialog.

For me, Planescape is #1.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

I really, really loved the story in Vagrant Story.

 

[fuindordm]

I have to say I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned Betrayal at Krondor yet - not too much, though, since it's a hugely under-rated game that never got the recognition it deserves. (largely in part due to less then stellar graphics)

That was a really fun game, but more like an interactive novel than anything else. The plot was very linear, the side quests minor... but the dialogue and story were amazing (classic Feist) and character progression very well paced.


I still have my copy, but good luck finding a computer to run it...

 

[The Little Raven]

#10 is gloriously plotted.

For the longest time, #8 and #6 warred to be my favorite, then #10 came along and kicked their asses. The amount of emotional resonance put into scenes, especially the one at the end when Yuna attempts to hug Tidus and fails... I got misty-eyed.