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What are the best RPGs where you start out as a nobody slowly drawn into an epic saga?

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Considered

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Feb 1, 2023

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11 Games Considered

Best RPGs where you start out as a nobody slowly drawn into an epic saga	Price	Platforms	Steam Rating
-- Secret of Mana	$8.99	-	-
-- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	$19.99	Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch	Overwhelmingly Positive
-- Chrono Trigger	$22.97	Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation, PlayStation 3 (Digital Only), PlayStation Portable, iOS, Android, Windows	-
-- EarthBound	-	-	-
-- Undertale	$9.99	Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Linux, macOS	Overwhelmingly Positive

Secret of Mana

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Top Pro

Has stood the test of time

Twenty some odd years later and Secret of Mana is still considered one of the best action role playing game experiences there is. See More

Top Con

Graphically, almost a direct port

Square Enix has done nothing to polish the graphics in this port which for the price point is a little disheartening. The black borders on both sides of the screen are also disappointing. To see Square do so little to accommodate HD devices and their swath of screen sizes, it makes one wonder how they get away charging the prices they do. See More

Top Pro

Unique ring command system allows for easy menu selection

The ring command system used for selecting equipment and other options is still as innovative today as it was back in 1993. A first at it's time, the ring command system allowed for users to select their weapons and equipment easily without having to leave the main game screen, making for selecting quite easy. See More

Top Pro

Considered one of the best stories in RPG's young and old

While the outline of the story is the normal RPG fare, where a young boy is tasked with saving the world, the characters and their journey still holds up as one of the best ever written. See More

Top Pro

Shift in gameplay for Squaresoft/SquareEnix made RPGs

Secret of Mana features a top down real time battle system akin to other action role playing games such as Legend of Zelda that at the time was a large shift from the turn based fare that Square created. Even today Square Enix does not foray too often into the action role playing genre, making for a unique experience when it comes to Square created titles. See More

Top Pro

Colorful 16bit era graphics

Secret of Mana was created at the height of the 16bit SNES era and utilized some of the most colorful and stylized fantasy role playing game graphics. While it would have been nice to see Square polish them up a bit for HD devices, they still hold up, especially in a market that has many games designed with bit graphics as a current trend. See More

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

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Top Pro

Thoughtful and expansive story with well-written characters

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt tells a deep and intricate story about the main character, Geralt, on his long journey to find his adoptive daughter, Ciri, who's on the run from the evil, supernatural warlords of the Wild Hunt. You spend the game following various leads on Ciri's whereabouts, meeting up with old friends, former lovers, powerful politicians, and all sorts of people from many walks of life. These characters usually want something in exchange for giving Geralt the information he wants, leading you down some unexpected and eye-opening paths as you learn more about who they are, how they met Ciri, and how she helped them grow as people, letting you form a bond with her through these thought-provoking tales. And as Geralt either helps or hurts these people himself, he inevitably impacts their lives in even more ways. Aside from the main story, there are also two great expansions: Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine, both of which offer their own amazing narratives with hours and hours of content. Hearts of Stone has you get involved with a shady, all-powerful manipulator who gives Geralt a series of seemingly impossible tasks, while Blood and Wine lets you explore the rolling hills of the wine-loving country of Touissant, with all the political intrigue surrounding the Duchess there. The Witcher 3's story has so much to offer, easily keeping you hooked for well over a hundred hours as you play and replay the base game and the excellent expansions. See More

Top Con

The combat can take some time to get used to

The real-time action combat with Geralt's swords and magic doesn't quite feel right. When you first try it, you might find the controls to be imprecise and a bit sluggish. You may need a few hours to get used to the way the swordplay works with parrying and dodging, on top of knowing when to use your defensive and offensive spells to take advantage of enemy weaknesses. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Action RPG

Top Pro

Vast and beautiful open world to explore

The world is gorgeous in how untainted it is, with many locations to see and visit. Full of vibrant life, the medieval-style setting is simple and understated, with wide open fields, rainy meadows, snowy mountain ranges, and modest wooden towns and cities for you to roam around on horseback or on foot. There are tons of secrets to find all over, like monster lairs to destroy for loot, treasure maps to follow, and hidden side quests in remote villages. The in-game clock keeps the skies changing with the hour as you cross from city to city, country to country, brightening the horizons with brilliant, golden sunrises in the morning and burning crimson sunsets in the evening. Everything is amazing to look at, encouraging you to wander around aimlessly just to take in the sights. See More

Top Con

Sometimes a bit difficult / time-consuming at certain points

104/5000 For example, playing cards is such a point and I was glad that there is a solution on the web. See More

Top Pro

The soundtrack is well constructed and complementary in almost all situations

While exploring, doing a quest whether it is main or side one, the music in the back always enhances your game play. When a fight starts it pumps you up by playing Slavic or Celtic beats, and on a heartbreaking scene, it slows down its pace and plays an instrumental that rings even after you close it. You won't even notice, but you start to hum Skelliege sound or Priscilla song in your daily chores. Watching the sun set over the horizon while the Kaer Morhen tune plays was one of the best moments in the game. Without the songs to complement it, the side quests or the battles would have started to feel like a chore after a while on doing side content. See More

Top Con

Some main story segments drag on for way too long

The story is generally excellent except for certain parts that seem to go on and on for hours with no end in sight. You start off looking into someone who has information on Ciri, only to get the run-around in the worst of ways, chasing down several leads for many different characters all at one time. Just when you think you're done with a series of main quests, you have to go talk to someone else, or kill some other monster, or go to some other place instead. It's really annoying and kills the pacing of the otherwise well-written narrative. See More

Top Pro

Fleshed-out romance options

Playing as Geralt, you have the choice to have one-night stands with ladies at certain taverns, or you can focus on his more involved romantic subplots. By this third game, Geralt has quite a long history with two competent and beautiful sorceresses: Triss Merigold, his love interest from The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, and Yennefer of Vengerberg, his old flame from the series of The Witcher novels that the games are based on. The two women also happen to be best friends, injecting some drama depending on how you go about things. Triss is really sweet, fun, and spontaneous with the way she makes the stoic Geralt smile and open up more as they get up to mischief together. On the other hand, Yennefer is strict, straightforward, and no-nonsense, not wanting to get into feelings all that much, and yet she and Geralt have such a strong bond over several years, making it feel special when Yen does occasionally let her guard down. Both of these romances intertwine well with the main story, with great optional side quests that add even more layers to whichever relationship you decide to pursue. It's also possible to try romancing both of them at the same time, but you might regret it, so choose carefully. See More

Top Pro

Your choices lead to morally-gray consequences and multiple different endings

There are rarely any right answers when making decisions. The situations that the story puts you in are unique and oftentimes unsettling, sometimes leaving you agonizing over which dialog option to pick during story conversations. During your first playthrough, it's isn't obvious which of your decisions are "important" and will impact plot outcomes, making you think critically about all of your choices. Most surprising are the critical decisions that determine which ending you get -- once you see your ending, you learn how organic everything is, with the game keeping track of your relationships with other characters in subtle ways. See More

Top Pro

Accessible to players who are new to the Witcher series

Even though this is the third Witcher game, you can still jump right in and not feel lost. The story is generally good with the way it introduces you to the main characters without expecting you to know who they are. Geralt often reminisces with his friends from the first two games, letting you in on their history and adventures together to give you an idea of what happened in the past. And you don't have to have read the series of Witcher books, either, as the games all take place beyond the stories there. See More

Chrono Trigger

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Likable characters

The character list ranges from the strong, silent hero to the talkative tomboy, even to the robot learning to cope with humans from the future. The character development is very well paced and adds a great deal of depth to the story. See More

Top Con

Very expensive for a game - SNES version only

If you want an original copy of the game, they will run you somewhere around $150. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing

Top Pro

Minimal grinding

Instead, more time is spent advancing the story. Dungeons are more about exploration and boss fights. Chrono Trigger keeps stupid fetch quests to a minimum. There are side quests, but they have a plot. See More

Top Con

Insane loading times - PlayStation version only

The PlayStation version of the game has ridiculously long loading times, making the game nearly unplayable for many people. See More

Top Pro

A great deal of replayability thanks to multiple endings

Chrono Trigger offers 19 different endings, which means you can play through this game at least that many times. See More

Top Pro

A definitive version of the game is available on the Nintendo DS

Chrono Trigger has 3 versions. The definitive version is the Nintendo DS version - it has the most endings, and character development has been added, you can also find this version on the Nintendo Shop for download. See More

Top Pro

Captivating storyline

It begins when you meet a strange girl named Marle, and you knock each other down on accident. She gets lost in a mysterious portal, and Crono jumps in to save her without knowing what's on the other side. And so, your adventure begins. See More

Top Pro

No random encounters

Battles are either scripted parts of the story, or the result of hitting a trigger, like an ambush point or a visible enemy. See More

Top Pro

Quality art and music

In its time, Chrono Trigger was the graphic titan. Its animations for abilities are simply beautiful, and the characters and environments are incredibly detailed. The soundtrack for the game is great as well, which serves to draw you even deeper into the story. See More

Undertale

Top Pro

Unpredictable gameplay

Various ways too tackle the game that depends solely on the choices you make. See More

Top Con

Art could be better

Much of the game is plain looking with simple graphics, and some with downright bad looking graphics. While it can be appreciated this was all created by one person, the graphics could use some polish in order to really make the game shine. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Role-Playing

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Pro

Amazing characters

The characters in the game are written well, each with their own personality. One may be too nice, and will lower their hit points when you attack, just to not offend you. Another may have personal goals of validation from their friends and family. This well fleshed out world works thanks to the characters contained within, making for an enjoyable story filled with humor. See More

Top Pro

Incredible soundtrack

Just like the simple but pleasant graphics in the game, the music matches this with a lo-fi score that is very fitting. See More

Top Pro

Full of interesting easter eggs

There are many secret mechanics to be discovered in the game. It may take a couple of playthroughs to discover them all, but when found it will make for a mind bending discovery. How the game appears is not how the game is actually being played. See More

Top Pro

True choices

Choices have lasting consequences. See More

LISA

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Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

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Suikoden II

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Pokémon Sun and Moon

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Top Pro

You can catch pokémon not available on Alola through the new Island Scan system

Every day, you are able to accrue 100 points from scanning QR codes which can be found either on the internet or in real life. Each scan gives you 10 points, and they don't carry over to the next day. However, you can spend 100 points to scan the islands, allowing you to find a rare pokémon that isn't normally caught in the Alola Isles. See More

Top Con

Many hacked pokémon in online trades

This is a common issue in pokémon games. They aren't dangerous to your save file or your 3DS, but if you want to be competitive you should steer clear of them. See More

Top Pro

All new Alolan Pokémon forms

Several of the classic pokémon have new forms in this game, giving them new types (this dictates what type of abilities the pokémon will be able to use, and it's strengths/weaknesses) and designs. A few examples are Sandshrew, Vulpix, Raichu, and Grimer. See More

Top Pro

Awesome competitive scene

Not many people would guess that Pokémon has a very much alive and thriving competitive scene. The most common battle type is VGC doubles, in which both players bring a total of 6 pokémon, but only use 4 (chosen before the game) to battle. See More

Mother 3

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Secret of Evermore

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