Which Console should I buy?

[WizarDru]

Final Fantasy used to be good.

6 was the last good one. It jumped the shark big time after that.

I hear this a lot, and having no history to judge, I'm curious why you think so. I remember playing Final Fantasy way back when, and never tried it again until FF7, which I enjoyed. I later tried FF 9, and enjoyed that, too.

What was it about prior games that was superior, or inferior about subsequent games? The story was a little wacky in 7, but it seemed like typical Japanese console RPG-fare, and 9 even more so. Was it the battle systems, or the mixing of tech and fantasy? I'm just curious what I missed out on.

 

[shadowlight]

For those of you disillusioned with Final Fantasy, you must try Knights of the Old Republic. Definitely my favorite CRPG of all time.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Wow. Where to start?

Thanks for all the replies!

I'm looking at the pc games on my shelf and I find hundreds of dollars of games that I have not played over a day or two before I got bored. Now, that statement may seem like I have a short attention span, but that's not really the problem. I have played BG and BG2 through dozens of times. Hell, I still load up the original Bard's Tale series at times, lol.

But lately, I haven't found an rpg I really like. Here is a list of games that I haven't been able to force myself to play thrtough in the last few years.

Divine Divinity
Neverwinter Nights
Pool of Radiance 2
TOEE
Quake 3
Age of Wonders
Morrowind
Might and Magic 9
Heroes of Might and Magic 4 (though I still play H3 online a lot.)
Dungeon Siege
Madden 2003 (mostly because I could never figure the controller out, lol.)
Wizardry 8
Wizards and Warriors


As you can see, I mostly like rpgs, but I like the occassional racing game, or tbs game, as well.

I have played Dark Alliance on a friends X box, and while it looked great, it seemed like a Diablo clone to me. Diablo was cool for a while, but it got old pretty quick.

I hear good things about KotOR, but if it's like NWN, I'll pass.

I like the old style rpgs and would like nothing better if some of the old 80s games were reworked for the pc with new updated graphics and mouse support. It seems I'm probably an old fogey sitting around talking about the "old days" but I need a gaming fix, damnit!


I think I'll go check out some console games at Wal-Mart and see which games appeal to me and see which console has more of those I like.


Once again, thanks for all the help.

 

[Dragonblade]

Could you be more specific about why you don't like Neverwinter Nights? I would kill to see that game and the expansions come out for the X-box.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Could you be more specific about why you don't like Neverwinter Nights? I would kill to see that game and the expansions come out for the X-box.

I'm not really sure. It was just boring. The outdoor areas were dsigned where you pretty much couldn't go off the path, there are people starving, but they are too stupid to get the gold out of the barrels that I was bashing open left and right, the plot was bleh, and the combat had no strategy whatsoever to it.


I guess I was spoiled by the infinity engine, had I not played BG2, I would probably have liked NWN.

 

[shadowlight]

I'm not really sure. It was just boring. The outdoor areas were dsigned where you pretty much couldn't go off the path, there are people starving, but they are too stupid to get the gold out of the barrels that I was bashing open left and right, the plot was bleh, and the combat had no strategy whatsoever to it.


I guess I was spoiled by the infinity engine, had I not played BG2, I would probably have liked NWN.

I agree. I didn't really like NWN either.

Even though its based on the same engine, KotOR is much better. The story, the graphics, the music, the fight animations... everything is a major improvement over NWN.

I just finished the game about an hour ago and am still a littled buzzed

 

[Tsyr]

You want an old-skewl crpg?

Get KotOR. It rocks on toast. I predicted it would suck all along, and it just blew me away. Yes, it suffers from some of those a little... Not too bad though. The biggest is that outdoor areas are a touch linear... I mean, you cant just start walking and eventually hit someplace else. Daggerfall it aint. But tactical combat, good story, a fairly cohesive cast... It works.

And Fable is comming...

 

[Welverin]

All of which ignores the fourth "console", and the second most popular behind the PS/2....the Gameboy Advance.

I do believe the GBA out sells all of the home consoles, and what's a better indicator of popularity than that?

I think I'll go check out some console games at Wal-Mart and see which games appeal to me and see which console has more of those I like.

The only real way to decide on what console is right for you.

 

[John Crichton]

I suggest you pay absolutely no attention to John. If you're like me, and judging by the games you listed liking, you won't want to base a console purchase on console rpg's (a misnomer if ever there was one). They might not be bad for the odd diversion, but compared to pc rpg's they're a joke.

Ah, my old nemesis Welverin.

I'm still very high on the PS2 despite the comments. No console has PC style RPGs otherwise they wouldn't be on the PC. Duh. But I have played plenty of PC RPGs and enjoyed both. Sure, there are differences. It boils down to Japanese RPGs vs. American RPGs. To that I say: whatever. A good game is a good game no matter how you slice it. FFX & FFX-2 are 2 of the best RPGs out there right now. The only RPG that I have played (take from that what you will) in the last 3 years that tops either was KOTOR, which you can get for the PC.

Okay, so forget the RPGs. PS2 has the best selection of quality games and the best online setup in every genre. Next year will see another Xbox price drop, just buy it then when there are better games out for it.

It's too bad that Microsoft won't just make friends with EA. They would own the online console world if they would just make nice...

 

[Dark Jezter]

Final Fantasy used to be good.

6 was the last good one. It jumped the shark big time after that.

FF9 was my favorite game in the entire series. I was especially happy that the protagonist (Zidane) wasn't a brooding, angsty whiner (Squall, anyone?). The only ones I haven't played are FF10 (due to not having a PS2), FF2, and FF3 (Those last two were NES titles that were released in Japan only).

I've been a fan of the Final Fantasy games for about 13 years now (ever since I played FF1 on the NES). Although they tend to be extremely linear and don't give you many chances to affect the plot, they almost always have memorable characters, deep and involving storylines, awesome soundtracks, and fun gameplay.