Xenoblade definitely sticks out as my single favourite RPG of the generation. It's certainly not without its faults: one or two bosses really like to frustratingly cheat, the Mechonis part of the game can be a long, arduous slog and a disappointment after the majesty of the Bionis, Metal Face came off a bit too much like a Saturday morning cartoon baddie after a few appearances, etc., but I applaud its sheer size and scope, that rewards a player for exploration. There's not a moment when I don't want to yell at the characters except when Melia takes a backseat to you-know-who later in the game, and you learn to love each and every one of them. Yes, even Riki. Especially the Heropon. I was that fond of the characters that I was actually overcome with an overwhelming sense of melancholic loss when the credits rolled. Definitely still the JRPG to beat in my opinion.
There's Dragon Age: Origins. People bark about how terrible the Fade section of the game is that they mod it out of existence, but I...strangely enjoyed it for some reason. The rest of the game is to be recommended, a nice throwback to the older D&D CRPGs of yesteryear that is still mechanically accessible and engaging enough for someone like me who has had zero experience with the CRPG genre.
Fallout: New Vegas. Never actually completed it admittedly, but commendable for how many times it has made me gingerly crawl through most confined areas of the game, paranoid that a Nightkin was about to devour me any moment. Or a Deathclaw. I ran into a horde of them at one time in the Mojave. It was the most exhilarating RUN AWAY! moment I've ever had, played through the third-person as I watched my moonwalking main character sail across scenary. VATS often annoyed me (how did that headshot only take a TINY bit of HP off you?!), but targeting limbs is so much fun.
Mass Effect trilogy: *looks at my avatar and sig* hrm, who'd have thought, eh? Sure, Mass Effect 1's combat is clunky and awkward. Mass Effect 2 onwards started streamlining the RPG-ness of the experience, doing away with planet exploration, while 3 has the uhh, ending. But I can overlook all that, and set my sights squarely on what the trilogy has given me. A set of characters that even my most renegade of FemSheps could not bring themselves to be condescending towards. Bless you all, Liara, Garrus, Wrex, Tali, Legion, Mordin, Thane, etc. All of you have really made the games something special. And to top it all of, it's the fantastic world (or rather, galaxy?) building with the rich lore that is well-told, and the excitement of a space opera flick that also kept me going.
Dragon Quest IX: this was a fine gem. I had a lot of fun playing through this, even though like many people, I would have preferred a full-fledged console followup after DQVIII. Alas.
Valkyria Chronicles: I absolutely lament the fact that this was never the commercial success it deserved to be, before Sega decided to reluctantly give us a sequel for PSP, before totally withholding the third one from the west. I really enjoyed this one. A very fresh amalgamation of genres with a gorgeous art style, and a story that well, decided to kill a certain character from completely out of the blue. A very underrated gem.
RPGs can be a very frustrating genre. They require extensive time commitment to get into and fully appreciate, but I've not had the time or opportunity to. Yeah, you can picture how unsuitable ARR: FFXIV would be for me then, subscription MMO and all!
There's Dragon Age: Origins. People bark about how terrible the Fade section of the game is that they mod it out of existence, but I...strangely enjoyed it for some reason. The rest of the game is to be recommended, a nice throwback to the older D&D CRPGs of yesteryear that is still mechanically accessible and engaging enough for someone like me who has had zero experience with the CRPG genre.
Fallout: New Vegas. Never actually completed it admittedly, but commendable for how many times it has made me gingerly crawl through most confined areas of the game, paranoid that a Nightkin was about to devour me any moment. Or a Deathclaw. I ran into a horde of them at one time in the Mojave. It was the most exhilarating RUN AWAY! moment I've ever had, played through the third-person as I watched my moonwalking main character sail across scenary. VATS often annoyed me (how did that headshot only take a TINY bit of HP off you?!), but targeting limbs is so much fun.
Mass Effect trilogy: *looks at my avatar and sig* hrm, who'd have thought, eh? Sure, Mass Effect 1's combat is clunky and awkward. Mass Effect 2 onwards started streamlining the RPG-ness of the experience, doing away with planet exploration, while 3 has the uhh, ending. But I can overlook all that, and set my sights squarely on what the trilogy has given me. A set of characters that even my most renegade of FemSheps could not bring themselves to be condescending towards. Bless you all, Liara, Garrus, Wrex, Tali, Legion, Mordin, Thane, etc. All of you have really made the games something special. And to top it all of, it's the fantastic world (or rather, galaxy?) building with the rich lore that is well-told, and the excitement of a space opera flick that also kept me going.
Dragon Quest IX: this was a fine gem. I had a lot of fun playing through this, even though like many people, I would have preferred a full-fledged console followup after DQVIII. Alas.
Valkyria Chronicles: I absolutely lament the fact that this was never the commercial success it deserved to be, before Sega decided to reluctantly give us a sequel for PSP, before totally withholding the third one from the west. I really enjoyed this one. A very fresh amalgamation of genres with a gorgeous art style, and a story that well, decided to kill a certain character from completely out of the blue. A very underrated gem.
RPGs can be a very frustrating genre. They require extensive time commitment to get into and fully appreciate, but I've not had the time or opportunity to. Yeah, you can picture how unsuitable ARR: FFXIV would be for me then, subscription MMO and all!