"Starter" RPGs for veteran gamer

[underscore ego]

I was not impressed with Children of Mana, to be honest. It didn't have the same feel as other games in the Mana series and felt more like a chore than anything. I wouldn't start the genre there.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Sword of Mana on GBA was basically a remake of the original Seiken Densetsu that was on the GB, titled Final Fantasy Adventure here I think. I liked the game because I remember playing FF Adv years ago. YMMV, depending on how much you like Mana.

[mobiusclimber]

Only good "Mana" game is Secret of Mana. FF Adventure is decent. Just about everything else is crap in some form or another.

[Trebuken]

Yup...lso gonna' say Puzzle Quest. Puzzle Quest 2 and Galctrix are good as well, but the original is the best.

Ys on the DS could be a nice starter as well.

[jperryss]

Another vote for FF-MQ. This game's got a bad rep but I enjoyed it. Definitely a 'beginner' RPG.

[Cryomancer]

Dragon Quest V, although it's storyline is so far superior to standard RPG fare that you'll find many other games lacking.

Also, Earthbound.

[Malon_Forever]

Paper Mario (N64) is a great place to start. Very simple and very fun.

[pseudonym]

Super Mario RPG and the Paper Mario series is a good starting place for beginners IMO.

[Jorpho]

Since Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario never made it to DS or GBA, it might be more appropriate to recommend the three Mario & Luigi games, which are awesome good fun very much in the same vein.

On that note, Tales of Innocence (DS) might be a good idea too. For some very strange reason Namco decided not to release it in the US, but there's a full English translation patch out now if you don't mind tracking down the ROM.

[Rickstilwell1]

Since you loved Baldur's Gate/Champions I also recommend the Untold Legends games for PSP and X-Men Legends 1 & 2 which are on PS2/Xbox/Gamecube (2 can also be had on PSP). Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 is a lot like X-Men Legends but I personally thought the X-Men ones were better than Marvel when it came to level design and story plot.

I have been trying to play some of the early games in this style back on PS1, such as Diablo and Darkstone, but both of those games are much much better on PC and are a lot harder to deal with. They're still fun enough to force myself through them though.

If you do end up liking the early Dragon Warrior games, then you will probably like Beyond the Beyond for Playstation. If you don't like at least Dragon Warrior 1, then you probably won't enjoy it much. It's more like Dragon Warrior than any other series I can think of.

Also, I beat Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku for GBA in one day. The day I bought it. It's easy to level up in the beginning if you just keep killing this giant dinosaur over and over again.

These starter ideas are coming from someone whose first RPG ever was *gulp* Wizardry. As a 6 year old all I could figure out how to do for fun was write lists of the monsters I could run into and see. I had no idea on how to effectively use battle tactics. "fight, fight, fight, parry, parry, parry" was all the young me knew how to do. Or "run." It's funny looking back.

If you like sidescrolling action RPGs, Faxanadu for NES is also very easy and you will do your fighting mainly for gold as experience isn't that important in this game. Good starter and my 2nd RPG ever.

[Arkhan]

I see Children of Mana DS at Gamestop for $8. Any good?

Wow, there are more $'s in the price of the game than there were hours of gameplay. haha! It is not a good game. Too short, too easy, too boring.


My starter recommendations:

NES: Crystalis. Definitely. You can't go wrong with it.

and possibly Magic of Scheherezade. You might not dig that game. Its hit or miss, but boy I sure do love it, and it's pretty straight forward. Fun stuff.

SNES: Mystic Quest (Its watered down and easy to get into. It flows well, you only have 2 characters to manage, and its still a fun friggin game)

Secret of Mana: Great action RPG. Easier than hell to pick up and understand, and it offers alot of depth without alot of crap.

Chrono Trigger: Its a pretty short/easy game really. But theres alot you can do, and it isn't convoluted. the pacing is nice. Shits always happening.

You can get Crystalis for gameboy color, and chrono trigger for DS. That makes it easier to grab those two games.

You might like Breath of Fire I and II also! They're on GBA now.

You could also try Record of Lodoss War on Dreamcast as it is pretty diablo-rific. Same goes for the original Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain on Playstation

If you can get a copy of Ys for Sega master system, that is simple and easy to get into, and a short game also!

and my last suggestion is Ys VI for PS2.

Though if you don't like Anime style games , you might not like them. Especially Persona 3. It's got a bit of date sim thrown in, which might not excite you much!


Avoid Dragon Quest games for now only because the grinding in them is legendary. You might get tired of that nonsense really quick. If it turns out you don't mind level grinding random battles for extended periods, give 3, 5, 8, and 9 a try.

[mobiusclimber]

Damn, Ark, I forgot about the Breath of Fire GBA games! Those are greater starter RPGs, particularly BoF2. It's fairly easy, linear but with plenty of optional places to explore, and has a ton of other... "systems"? ... besides just random turn-based battling. What I mean is, you can hunt in real time, go fishing... basically do a bunch of other stuff besides just fighting random battles.

But... no love for DQ4? I thought it was pretty awesome, and there wasn't a ton of grinding in it either (at least on the DS).

Also, Ys seems damn near impossible on the Master System. The Turbo CD version is a cakewalk, but trust me, you'll be grinding forever in the Master System version. And unfortunately, the DS version isn't really recommended, so there's not a good way to play Ys. If you have the Turbo CD tho, definitely a great starter RPG.

I wouldn't recommend Untold Legends, or at least the first one on the PSP (only one I've played) only b/c it feels like a rehash of other, better hack&slash titles. The story is pretty boring and theres a lot that just feels ripped off. Just my opinion tho.

[Swamperon]

I will give another shout for Chrono Trigger. It's not too long, there are a few times you have to grind (if any) and nothing is overly convoluted about it.

Also Skies of Arcadia if you have a DC/GC. The gameplay is solid, the storyline is fun without being overly cliched, music is amazing and it clocks in at around 40 hours (without additional side quests completed). As you hate random battles I'd go with the GC version.

[Arkhan]

Damn, Ark, I forgot about the Breath of Fire GBA games! Those are greater starter RPGs, particularly BoF2. It's fairly easy, linear but with plenty of optional places to explore, and has a ton of other... "systems"? ... besides just random turn-based battling. What I mean is, you can hunt in real time, go fishing... basically do a bunch of other stuff besides just fighting random battles.

Yes, BoF's are awesome for the budding RPG spaz. Im surprised they werent mentioned sooner.

But... no love for DQ4? I thought it was pretty awesome, and there wasn't a ton of grinding in it either (at least on the DS).

I wasn't a fan of it. 3 blows it away lol.

Also, Ys seems damn near impossible on the Master System. The Turbo CD version is a cakewalk, but trust me, you'll be grinding forever in the Master System version. And unfortunately, the DS version isn't really recommended, so there's not a good way to play Ys. If you have the Turbo CD tho, definitely a great starter RPG.

On the contrary, the DS Ys is fine if you are new to Ys. You wont notice the lack of ramming system, and wont want to kill yourself having to use the slashy mode

[SegaAges]

I will throw in a vote for Bioware games. The KOTOR series, Mass effect series, Jade Dragon. They are very easy to pick up and play.

Oblivion and Fallout 3 are also good as well

[Jisho23]

Since the regular gang of games has been recommended, if you get through those try the second Lufia game (Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals) on SNES. Fun rpg, not too difficult, and some light puzzle solving and dungeon diving.

And yeah, MQ I think only gets such a bad rap because its not as good as the other 2 on the system. It may not be that good, but its definitely not outright bad.

[Jorpho]

You can get Crystalis for gameboy color

It seems pretty much everyone finds the GBC port to be vastly inferior to the original.

You might like Breath of Fire I and II also! They're on GBA now.

Ugh. I found the first BoF to be a tiresome waste of time that has not aged well at all. I might take a look at BoF2 [SNES] someday now that there's that spiffy retranslation patch available for it.

Also, Ys seems damn near impossible on the Master System. The Turbo CD version is a cakewalk, but trust me, you'll be grinding forever in the Master System version. And unfortunately, the DS version isn't really recommended, so there's not a good way to play Ys. If you have the Turbo CD tho, definitely a great starter RPG.

Apparently one of the best ways to play Ys is to get the Japanese Windows version, with the translation patch and soundtrack patched together from the arranged-music CD releases.

[mobiusclimber]

Ugh. I found the first BoF to be a tiresome waste of time that has not aged well at all. I might take a look at BoF2 [SNES] someday now that there's that spiffy retranslation patch available for it.

I hated the first BoF game (mostly, there are parts of the story that are pretty awesome, and the dragon transformations are cool, but otherwise no), but the second one was a vast improvement.

[dgdgagdae]

I'll also cast a vote for Mario & Luigi - Bowser's Inside Story. It's the only M&L game I've played, but it's an entry level RPG and a great deal of fun.

[RJ]

Wow, I seemed to have really casued a stir here. Recommendations are all over the place. I wouldnt consider Mass Effect or KOTOR to be what Im looking for. Let me reiterate:

1. An easy-to-get-into RPG w/ minimal random turn-based battles, something ideally just like DS Guadia Quest
2. No more "sophisticated" than an NES or SMS RPG. Anything past that would require more time/effort than I want to give.
3. No Dreamcast, no PSP, no 360/PS3, no GBC, no GBA. Preferably playable on NES, SNES, or DS (like Guadia Quest)
4. Looking to spend $5-10 per game.

I beat Guadia Quest's challenges last night. I got sick of grinding (good call Arkhan!) so I just said F it Im going down there to get the 1st boss. Sure felt good to kill him.