Looking for some Ps2 RPGS.

[Brill Weave]

I've taken to surfing Amazon.com while I'm at work lately. I've been wanting to pick up some older RPG's that I may have missed out on the first time around. To be honest I'm looking to pick up just about any PS2 game I missed out on. Since prices are so damn cheap on Amazon to buy used PS2 games I figured I would start picking some up.

The first games I picked up were Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, Freedom Fighters(fuck yeah!), Way of the Samurai, and Front Mission 4. These are the games I'm interested in getting but I don't know enough about. So if you guys have played them, chime in here with your thoughts.

Forever Kingdom
Rogue Galaxy
Tales of the Abyss
Suikoden V
Magna Carta: Tears of Blood
Radiata Stories
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Wild Arms 5

[Charismatic]

From your list:

Tales of the Abyss
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Those are the only ones I've played more than a few minutes of, I liked both quite a bit.
I'm a big fan of the Tales games so you might take that with a grain of salt, not everyone likes them but I like every game in the series that I've played quite a bit.
(I have not played Legendia, people say that one isn't so good)

SO:TtEoT well... I gotta say, the story's pretty boring at first.
It picks up and gets FUCKING AWESOME, then there's a plot twist that might ruin your enjoyment of the game if you played the previous Star Ocean games, probably not so bad if this is your first SO game though.


That said, the battle systems in both games are very good and they are fun to play even if you don't worry about the story at all.

[Brill Weave]

I have played the previous SO games

[Charismatic]

Well, I just made that comment based on the reactions of people people I've talked to.

I found it to be corny, but... it didn't really bother me as much as most people say it bothered them.
Anyway, the game is worth playing at the very least for the awesome combat and the build up to that very plot twist. Man, the scenes before that are probably some of the most intense in any RPG I've played.
Well, that's my opinion on it anyway. Hopefully some other people will be able to give you their opinions as well.

I'm also interested to see what they have to say about the other games too, I'm interested in most of the games on your list.

[Exoduso]

Radiata Stories is great.

I also suggest you pick up SMT: Nocturne and Persona 3 FES.

[sephir]

Radiata Stories is AMAZING. There are actually 2 stories in the game, both from one original plot line. Star Ocean TET is great, and Tales of the Abyss


I would say
1.Radiata stories
2.Star Ocean
3.Tales of the Abyss

[Groovebox]

I would definitely get Persona 3 FES. It's 29.99, but it's worth every penny. Out of your list:

Magna Carta - awful game, I played for maybe an hour before never playing again.
Shadow Hearts - both games are pretty fun, if they are cheap I'd buy them.
Rogue Galaxy - very underrated game, it's an awesome Sci-fi RPG.
Radiata Stories - awesome game.

[Arnwulf]

Get the Shadow Hearts games and Star Ocean. Also Shin Megami Tensai: Nocturne and Persona 3: FES are awesome.

[Aerin]

Rogue Galaxy
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

SO was an awesome game. Rogue Galaxy was fun too, that last boss and the huge slow ass sword can suck my balls though.

[layoneil]

Get the Shadow Hearts games and Star Ocean.

[killerx]

Rogue Galaxy
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

SO was an awesome game. Rogue Galaxy was fun too, that last boss and the huge slow ass sword can suck my balls though.

yeah seriously fuck that last boss but that was a damn good game

[Exoduso]

Rogue Galaxy
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

SO was an awesome game. Rogue Galaxy was fun too, that last boss and the huge slow ass sword can suck my balls though.

yeah seriously fuck that last boss but that was a damn good game

Rogue Galaxy was really fun until that prison place (that takes 2 hours to get out of) with the mobs that take like 30 minutes to kill and give you like 5xp in return... I stopped playing it there. (yes, i'm exaggerating... but that part really pissed me off.. =/)

[Elcura]

Definitely look into Suikoden. Try to find 1 and 2 (for PS1 games, they age very well because they're sprite based). 5 is great because it's basically returning to what made S1 and 2 so great, but if you play it before those games you might not get some references.

In anycase, whether you've played or are planning to play S1 and 2, pick up 5.

Magna Carter is average. Not worth playing.

Shadow Hearts, get the first and second game, those are the best. 3rd is pretty good but lacked a bit.

Star Ocean: TTEoT is amazing, it's one of the few games where the story didn't actually matter to me at all. I still would have finished the game because it's so goddamn fun. Luckily the story is actually pretty good. And it's one of the most intense stories in terms of scale. You really feel like the universe is ending and you're around to witness it. The plot twist is indeed stupid, especially considering SO1 and 2, but the main reason I hated it was because it erased a LOT of the tension and epic build up, the climax was coming up and it could have been so epic, but wasn't.

At least there's a LOT to do after finishing the main story.

Rogue Galaxy is a huge grind. I mean, dungeon crawler. Same thing right? Anyway, it's a really fun game, visually impressive and creative as well. The story is...pretty typical, but done well. The dungeon crawling isn't that bad save for 2 places that really stood out. The prison Exo mentioned (it's a pretty big bump in difficulty that comes early on) and the two towers in some town.

[Calais~]

Rogue Galaxy - Heard good things from everyone that played it
Suikoden V - One of my favorite games period. It does help if you've played the first two games, but it is by no means required. I heard complaints that the beginning is too slow, but it didn't seem like it to me. Wonderful story.
Magna Carta: Tears of Blood - Bad voice acting, battle system wasn't fun, irritating characters. Out of all my games, this is the one I most regret buying.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant - You collect gay trading cards to buy dresses for the creepy old mans puppet that he uses in battle. Very amusing game and likable characters.
Shadow Hearts: From the New World - From what I heard, not as great as Covenant, but still a good game. Supposedly just as...quirky, if not more, than Covenant as well.
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - Weird ass plot twist (made me laugh though), not too annoying characters, and lots of extra bosses, secret dungeons, and trophies to collect. I second the "story didn't really matter to me" bit. It wasn't I DONT CARE I DONT CARE LET ME SPAM X THROUGH THE CUTSCENES for me, but running around killing stuff and gathering trophies was just too fun.

[Krandor]

Honestly, the Plot twist moment in Star Ocean 3 completely killed the entire game for me. It was really hurt by how horrendous the voice acting was, but all things considered it just turned me off from the rest of the game instantly.

I'm playing Rogue Galaxy right now since I never beat it back in the day. The game can get a little repetitive, but you just turn off your brain a bit (which helps to digest how ludicrous the story is), you're in for a real treat.

[Kenai]

If you play Star ocean 3, get used to "SPHERE OF MIGHT!!!!!!" If you play Rouge Galaxy, get used to "JASTER! HEY JASTER JASTER JASTER"

i kid. (sort of)

I'd personally recommend Suikoden 5, TotA, and Shadow hearts 1 and 2 above and beyond the rest of the list, although radiata stories and Rouge Galaxy were good also. And def. pick up FES and/or DQ8 if you can.

[Ramor]

If you play Star ocean 3, get used to "SPHERE OF MIGHT!!!!!!"

you're doin it wrong, get used to "MAX SHOCKWAVE" (for really reals)

I haven't really played a lot of the RPGS you have listed except for SO, which I absolutely fucking loved and still play on a fairly regular basis... even though i've done most everything in it, although not all, even having had it for a few years with a fair amount of gameplay behind it, there's just a shitton to do.

[Exoduso]

Honestly, the Plot twist moment in Star Ocean 3 completely killed the entire game for me. It was really hurt by how horrendous the voice acting was, but all things considered it just turned me off from the rest of the game instantly.

I'm playing Rogue Galaxy right now since I never beat it back in the day. The game can get a little repetitive, but you just turn off your brain a bit (which helps to digest how ludicrous the story is), you're in for a real treat.

Haha, the SO3 plot twist was fucking ridiculous... I stopped about an hour after you get to that city actually, never beat it. It sucks too, because I sort of enjoyed it.

[Moridam]

I didn't get terribly far in SO3 or Radiata Stories. The storylines in both seemed terribly uninspired, and the novelty of the Tri-Ace systems/gameplay style didn't last beyond SO2 for me. If you've never played any of their games before though, either one might be good for a break from the traditional RPG fare; I thoroughly enjoyed SO2 mainly because so much of the total package seemed fresh and new and interesting. Subsequent Tri-Ace titles tend to feel too homogenous for the fun to last, in my experience.

From the few I've played in that list, I'd put Shadow Hearts: Covenant as your first priority.

[Exoduso]

Radiata Stories isn't that great until the plot twist at the halfway point. I really liked both paths after that though (good and evil basically, IIRC if you pick the evil path you restart with some evil gear but lose your level/equipment..)