The BEST 3 RPGs you have ever played

[Funkave]

Mine would be:

 

1. Xenogears (arguably best RPG story ever told and soundtrack ever composed)

2. The Witcher 3 (played all of course)

3. BG2

 

Never got into Torment. Simply too complex for a non-native speaker.

[Niclole]

Final Fantasy Tactics

Icewind Dale

Pillars of Eternity

If I want a good story I'll read a book.  These games do it for me in the mechanics department while having passable stories.  

 

 

Edit: These are the only 3 games Ive ever played through completion more than two times. Which is why I prefer my games to have good mechanics/replayability more than story.  I can reread books over and over and over and get the enjoyment of the story.  But no matter how good a games story is I can only manage to play through it once, maybe twice.  If the story is what draws me to a game I'll never be able to play it again.

Edited February 20, 2017 by Niclole

[Don-Esteban]

1. Gothic

2. Icewind Dale

3. Pillars of Eternity

 

The Baldur's Gate series is too long ago, I never played it since 2001. The first Icewind Dale I play round about every 5 years again. Gothic too.

[Masticator]

Fallout: New Vegas: Will always be my favorite even though I played it so much I can't really play more than once a year at this point. I could never get the script editor to work for the more serious mods though. Oh well. DLC was okay, Honest Hearts being my favorite, but overall the DLC didn't match the original game in story quality. Perhaps I am biased as I grew up in this area, and I even went to Goodsprings elementary school for one year. This game easily has my most hours played, however (excluding time munching MMO's).

 

Dragon Age: Origins. The other 2 are fairly forgettable, though the 3rd is better than the 2nd. The first still holds a special place in my heart. It, along with Fallout: New Vegas had a good mix of action and role playing/story elements. The DLC was pretty forgettable, but I did enjoy the expansion.

 

Pillars of Eternity. Yes I'm moving this game up my list. My second playthrough has been much better and improved my opinion of the game. Normally I'd put something like Planescape: Torment or Baldur's Gate 2 here, but I'll move POE up to #3 spot. Unfortunately I hit a serious bug with the White March expansion, and I don't think I can complete that expansion (and won't be able to do WM2 either). So I can't rate the expansions too high at this point.

 

A lot of people mentioning Witcher 3. While the atmosphere and setting of the game is the best of ANY game I have ever played. It lacks serious replayability, and I've only been able to finish one game. Part of the problem is playing only one character, which lacks serious role playing and trying out different classes and such that you can do with other games. The signs in general kind of suck compared to spells in most games. Maybe if I could play a sorceress in that game. And no, playing as Ciri doesn't make up for being stuck with one character. There just isn't any reason to play the game again. Not to mention the game is incredibly long. The music is the best of any game I have ever played, and so is the medieval fantasy setting. No game even comes close.

Edited February 22, 2017 by Masticator

[Katarack21]

1: BG2
2: PoE (there's a reason I've clocked over 500 hours)
3: KOTOR 2/Grandia II/FF 3/6/

Not quite in this league but *REALLY* good:

Vampire: The Masquerade--Bloodlines (with fan patches)

Grandia III

Chronotrigger

Tyranny

 

BG 1

Edited February 22, 2017 by Katarack21

[IamNOOB]

I saw one dungeon siege fan Thumb up for this. But truth is that Dungeon siege was not a good game - playable but nothing much. I played them all even though they kind of do not shine.

[Fenixp]

A lot of people mentioning Witcher 3.

Well, I'd say it was just an absolutely exceptional storytelling experience with one of the most beautiful open worlds I've ever seen, but it ... Just ... Wasn't a very good RPG. It embodied the worst things you can find in the genre - completely illogical character progression that made sense neither lore-wise (Geralt getting thrown back to lvl1 power-wise after all he's been through) nor gameplay-wise (why do lvl12 bandits have clubs that do 100x more damage than lvl7 master crafted sword?), character development that was rather inconsequential (regardless of which skills you took, you were still a guy swinging a sword and using magic) and boring (+5% attack damage. Yay.) with rather abysmal encounter design (Why are there lvl1 drowners here and identical lvl10 drowners down the river, but the latter somehow having much sharper claws?) and if I've ever seen an argument for why is level scaling sometimes a good thing, Witcher 3 was it ("Help! Kill these drowners that are attacking me, master Witcher, like you killed those over there!" "Okay. But you'll have to wait for 3-5 hours because these drowners are lvl10 and those I killed were lvl1, so... I'll have to level up, see.")

[darqleo]

Ultima IV

Baldur's Gate 2

Fallout

[Heijoushin]

Only 3 is REALLY difficult.

 

My favorite Western RPGs:

Icewind Dale 1&2

Neverwinter Nights 2

Vampire: Bloodlines

Arcanum

(Honorable Mention) Ultima 8 -> for all its flaws, this game really made a big impact on me as a kid.

 

Favorite J-RPGs

Final Fantasy 7,8,10

Devil Survivor 1&2

Persona 3,4,5

Bravely Default

Fire Emblem: Awakening

And Pokemon, though Pokemon has become a little stale over the years with constant repetition of the same formula.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Heijoushin

[Sking]

Hey (you bunch of flatterers)

 

Loving the lists, stoked we made it on a few. Figured I'd throw mine at you:

 

1. Bioshock (Not huge on the RPG side, but I freaking love this game)

2. Temple of Elemental Evil

3. Skyrim

 

 

And Pokemon, though Pokemon has become a little stale over the years with constant repetition of the same formula.

 

Feel the same about Pokemon. Bummer it hasn't really kept up with the times.

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

• X-men Legends.
• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.

 

 

I loved these games as a kid. Peeps at my studio try to hate on them, I always defend them. haha

 

Hope to see you nerds on the PoE 2 forums,

- Sking

[Katarack21]

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

• X-men Legends.
• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.

 

 

I loved these games as a kid. Peeps at my studio try to hate on them, I always defend them. haha

 

Hope to see you nerds on the PoE 2 forums,

- Sking

BG:DA isn't bad at all for the Gauntlet-style game that it is. They should *never* have tried to crib off the success of the Baldur's Gate franchise, though; that left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths.

[Ravenfeeder]

Going on how much I enjoyed/was amazed when they came out, rather than how they play now:

In chronological order:

1. Betrayal at Krondor. Showed you could have a novel-like experience on your cRPG.

2. BG2. Suddenly gave us rounded companions who we had personal relationships with. (not just love and sex)

3. DA:O Gave us more depth into character backgrounds and further deepened companion relationships (still not just banging)

[IamNOOB]

OK I am ashamed I did not play Baldur's gate. Most people here have in their list. :D :D :D I will go play it some day. I heard a lot about it years ago, then wanted to play it, but for some reason I did not.

[Guest FlorianGh]

1. Arcanum;

2. Fallout 2;

3. Pillars of Eternity;

4. Underrail;

5. PS:T;

5. Fallout : NV;

[Glurak]

1. Suikoden II

2. Final Fantasy VI

3. Gothic 

4. Witcher 3

5. Dragon Age: Origins

6. Planescape Torment

7. Fallout 2

8. Pillars of Eternity

9. Chrono Trigger

10. Gothic 2

[TheMetaphysician]

OK I am ashamed I did not play Baldur's gate. Most people here have in their list. :D :D :D I will go play it some day. I heard a lot about it years ago, then wanted to play it, but for some reason I did not.

 

I recommend the Enhanced Editions. Some purists will decry them because they don't like some of the minor additions made (like a couple new companions), but I played the originals, and the Enhanced Editions are wonderful upgrades, particularly graphically.

[Katarack21]

 

OK I am ashamed I did not play Baldur's gate. Most people here have in their list. :D :D :D I will go play it some day. I heard a lot about it years ago, then wanted to play it, but for some reason I did not.

 

I recommend the Enhanced Editions. Some purists will decry them because they don't like some of the minor additions made (like a couple new companions), but I played the originals, and the Enhanced Editions are wonderful upgrades, particularly graphically.

 

Truth. I bought and played the originals back when I had to keep track of all five disks; the EE are superior, IMHO.

[IamNOOB]

Topic turned out well ! I am glad.

[Kaylon]

 

 

OK I am ashamed I did not play Baldur's gate. Most people here have in their list. :D :D :D I will go play it some day. I heard a lot about it years ago, then wanted to play it, but for some reason I did not.

 

I recommend the Enhanced Editions. Some purists will decry them because they don't like some of the minor additions made (like a couple new companions), but I played the originals, and the Enhanced Editions are wonderful upgrades, particularly graphically.

 

Truth. I bought and played the originals back when I had to keep track of all five disks; the EE are superior, IMHO.

 

The EE altered the gameplay because they introduced the rules from BG2 in a game that wasn't made for them. They also made some arbitrary changes (the nerf to the Eagle Bow was outrageous...) and introduced new items that altered the game balance. Overall it doesn't feel the same as the original and I understand why some people dislike the EE.

[KDubya]

I last did the BG trilogy with TuTu mod installed, SCS as well as a few others that enhanced NPCs and let you customize the companions by changing class and weapon proficiency. It made for a great experience and going from Candlekeep all the way to the end of ToB with the same character was great. The whole series had a sense of epicness that I've not ever seen duplicated.

[IamNOOB]

NOW I AM WAITING for the Mass Effect Andromeda, surely it will be the RPG of the year. I believe so.

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

Witcher 3 and the old Gold Box Pool of Radiance and the original Deus Ex.

[darqleo]

Hey (you bunch of flatterers)

 

Loving the lists, stoked we made it on a few. Figured I'd throw mine at you:

 

1. Bioshock (Not huge on the RPG side, but I freaking love this game)

2. Temple of Elemental Evil

3. Skyrim

 

Temple of Elemental Evil was the last in the style of CRPGs I loved to play until Wasteland 2/Pillars of Eternity came out, the dark times when first person shooters, Diablo clones and MMORPGs took over the industry. It was buggy as hell and my party reached level cap before even entering the temple. But I will give it props for the tactical combat. 

Edited February 26, 2017 by darqleo

[InsaneCommander]

This is difficult. But I think Baldur's Gate 2 wins because of nostalgia.

 

1- Baldur's Gate 2

2- Pillars of Eternity

3- Divinity Original Sin

 

4- Ultima VIII (I learned English because of this game, there was no other way to advance lol)

 

With free world exploration and all the cool stuff I think PoE2 might make it to the top of the list.

[EnialusMeliamne]

I enjoy lurking on these types of threads, and this particular one didn't disappoint. I'll add my contribution to it, but I'll start with the following subcategories: Immersion, Tactics, and Lore.

 

My immersion top 3 are:

1. MOTB

2. Pillars of Eternity (I'm a sucker for the Watcher zoom-ins that were baked into it)

3. BGII

 

My tactics top 3 are:

1. TOEE (w/Circle of Eight mods...I couldn't play it otherwise).

2. Icewind Dale

3. Pillars of Eternity

 

My lore top 3 are:

1. Pillars of Eternity (I love the hard cover books, novellas, as well as the books within the game)

2. Icewind Dale

3. KOTOR

 

Overall top 3:

1. Pillars of Eternity. Backed the game, restarted it more times than I can count, love owning the physical books, love the story and the fact that we all own a bit of responsibility in helping to make it happen (from a monetary perspective). Yeah, clear winner for me.

2. KOTOR. I completed the game many years after its release, on a Mac port. I remember being completely blown away by the ending of the story, and all of the twists and turns along the way. I never completed the sequel of it, but I'm not ruling it out for another day down the line.

3. NWN. For the countless hours of play on a long since defunct persistent world (Mossbourne), for the many high quality mods that I played along the way, and for the absolutely stellar Aielund Saga that easily could have been an official release. It doesn't make my top three in any of the above areas, nut for nostalgia alone, it makes my top 3.

 

Of random note: I'm doing a simultaneous play through of Witcher 1 and Pillars, mainly Pillars for the last two days of gaming time. Witcher 1 has been absolutely stellar so far (I'm in Chapter 5 on my first play through), and I understand why that series is so revered. It'll probably be in my top 5 of favorites, once I'm done.

 

I have 2 and 3 also installed on my rig, as well as Tyranny. I would have been an early buyer of Tyranny, had it been able to run on my four year old Mac. Alas, it couldn't, and neither could most of the Witcher's (from a graphical standpoint)...so I recently bought an Acer gaming rig, which plays all of them very easily. My first Windows machine in over a decade (not counting those at work). I made that choice because I didn't want to lose out on being able to play POEII right away upon release.

 

Edit: various errors.

Edited February 27, 2017 by EnialusMeliamne