I'd like some recommendation

[Darklight]

Zik, read most of the thread, cept the picky bit's ;)

You still have a PS1 which means you have allot of options if you don't mind visiting pawn shops. Both the person's and dragon quest 7 are a decent challenge and loads of fun. You wouldn't be doing any harm finding Grandia or xenogears either. Also, the review section of this site has a wealth of information from Gamers who like their Rpg's

You still got the Cube? it's been said 3 times, SOA is a great port. Baiten Kaitos games are ok but Both the Zelda games is where it's at.

You want a challenge on the 360? Get Dark Souls

[Zik]

Yeah i've heard a lot about Xenogears, ill buy this game without even thinking about it if I find it, same for SOA on the NGC.

I also saw that one of the pawn shops in my city got The Legend of Dragoon, ill proprably take it since it looks like a solid traditional RPG.

As for Dark Souls, I was quite hyped about this game since it was supposed to be a great challenge, I tried it when it came out but for some reason I didnt really like the gameplay. Not a bad game at all, I just couldnt get into it.

On another note, I recently bought Children of Mana, I had Sword of Mana on the GBA (one of the many games I forgot to add on my first post) and it was decent, dont know if CoM is any good though.. anyway it was only 20$

[Yggdrasil]

Nobody said Vagrant Story yet, right? Because that's a really great title. Only one thing, the learning curve can be a bit brutal since it can take you a few days fully understand everything but it's so worth it for just to see how that story continues.

Is at a good price on PSN. Dunno about the price(s) you can find on the Internet though.

[Zik]

Yes, Yggdrasil, i've heard about Vagrant Story in the past. Its quite hard if I recall correctly? Never seen a physical copy though.. Ill take a look on the internet.

If, after a lot or research, I can't find many of those great titles on the internet/pawn shop i'll have to buy a PS3 in the future, but like I said before this will be only if its the only solution because not only im not a fan of digital copies, its also because I want to build a nice RPGs collection.

Thanks again for all your suggestions guys, truly appreciated. I don't know if there is anymore games you could suggest me since we already had a lot, so we can let this thread die ;p.

[Prime Mover]

I also saw that one of the pawn shops in my city got The Legend of Dragoon, ill proprably take it since it looks like a solid traditional RPG.

Oh, I wouldn't say that. "traditional RPG" is about the only thing solid about it. It's a very mediocre game, I think most people around here will agree. It's like a very poor Final Fantasy ripoff with very little originality, godawful music, and unremarkable characters/plot/environment. About the only thing to say about it is that it with the first to introduce (unless you count FF8) the timed button-press battle system, later integrated into games like Shadow Hearts, Lost Odyssey, and Xenoblade. But even then, it's glitchy and imprecise.

All the other titles you have mentioned are worlds better, go with those.

[Zik]

Oh really.. I must admit that everyone that told me about this game were all quite unfamiliar with RPGs, so they might all liked it because they didnt know much about the genre.

[Monsoon]

When people are looking for a new RPG and they have some oldschool sensibilities, the first thing I recommend is picking up the Breath of Death VII and/or Cthulhu Saves the World, both made by indie studio Zeboyd Games.  The games are deliberately old-looking (think Dragon Quest IV for BoD and Dragon Quest V for CStW) but have some very neat design elements and are extremely humorous.  The best part: the double pack is $3 on Steam, and on XBL they're $1 each. 

[Golden Age]

I'm looking for some recommendations as well. I was a big JRPG fan when I was younger, but haven't really played them in years and was looking for some suggestions.

The first RPG I ever played was Final Fantasy III (which I would later find out was actually VI) and I was hooked. After that I played Secret of Mana, but I don't remember any of it. Then I finished off my SNES RPG days with Super Mario RPG.

From there I moved onto PSone and Final Fantasy VII, which is one of my best gaming memories and Final Fantasy VIII, which I didn't like at the time and Final Fantasy IX which I loved and a game I consider one of my favorites in the series (most likely because it reminded of my first RPG, FF VI). As you can see, I mostly stuck to Squaresoft titles since those were the only ones I knew. I never played any on the N64. Ocarina of Time if that counts.

When PS2 came out, I tried a lot of RPG's, but just wasn't really into them at that time in my life. I didn't care for Final Fantasy X and I tried to get into Xenosaga, but it just wasn't happening. I really enjoyed Final Fantasy XII. I never finished it but I had a lot of fun with it. A game someone gave me as a gift was called Shadow Hearts (I had asked for Kingdom Hearts) and I loved that game so much. I had never heard of it before and haven't heard anything about it since, but I loved this game. Played Dragon Quest VIII, but got bored and never finished. Played Kingdom Hearts and liked it but that isn't really an RPG, I suppose.

I took a break from gaming for a couple years, but the last year I've picked up a 360 and PS3 and have been having a good time with games like Fallout 3 and NV and am currently playing Skyrim, which I am enjoying tremendously. Enjoy the Mass Effect games, too, but they just don't have the same feeling that the old school JRPG's do. I actually miss grinding. I hear people badmouth Final Fantasy XIII, but I found the combat system to be awesome. I'll pick up XIII-2 eventually, but I just finished XIII a couple months ago.

Gaming life story out of the way, really what I'm looking for is some of the gems that I may have missed early on. The games I want to play more than anything are the Persona games but I don't have a PS2 or a PSP and can't afford to pick either of them up (and the games) right now. Is there any way to play the Persona games on my PS3? I'm looking for games like that. Lesser known in the West type stuff. I've looked at Disgaea and that might be fun, but I am mot familiar with that series. Basically anything I can play on my 360 and PS3, either of the current gen or stuff I can download from the PlayStation store or XBox LIVE. XBox has a very small amount of RPG's for download so I don't think there is anything there I might be looking for. PlayStation store has tons of stuff but for some reason I'm not given the option to download a trial or even see screenshots (is that normal? Is there a setting I can select to at least be able to see screenshots? I can't imagine putting games for download but not even giving screenshots of the actual game). Even if it's very old I would be willing to give it a try as long as it's not too dated. Was thinking about playing Final Fantasy VI, VII, VIII and IX again but I don't know how they hold up. Maybe Chrono Trigger or Chrono Cross, but I'm familiar with Square games and was looking for stuff I had never heard of. Was there ever anything else from the people who made Shadow Hearts?

TL/DR, can someone tell me if I can play the Persona games on PS3 and if I can't, any other lesser known RPG's like it that I can play on PS3 or 360 either by disc or download.

[neogalahad]

How about Lost Odyssey? Its a great turn based JRPG from the creator of Final Fantasy and there is plenty of grinding if you choose to. The game looks great and the written memories in the game are phenomenal! Check it out if you want a great JRPG experience, also I recommend installing the discs to boost the loading speeds of the battle sequences.

[Agent D.]

First up, don't take it offensively, but most of the stuff listed here helps determine the fact that you aren't an old school gamer, you just like old meat and potatos rpgs. Nothing super flashy, but solid and substantial. Based on the stuff you mentioned on your list you like and don't like, it's pretty easy to make this observation. Also, seeing as you like some action themed rpgs, yeah old school is out the window. Again, don't take it offensively,as being an oldschool gamer  actually makes suggesting games harder because it means your brain can't think outside of pressing a button to move dialogue ahead. You seem to enjoy a number of rpgs, so suggesting games isn't that rough. Also, don't let easy games through you off, as difficulty can spike in many a good rpg, some of which are beyond simple to start with. One last thing before recommendations, look into buying a ps3 in the future. Digital downloads for some old ps1 rpgs is gonna be a lot simpler than trying to find a used copy of say, suikoden 1 and 2, plus ps3 does have a decent selection of other titles as well. K, onto the suggestions.

Wild Arms: Psx title, you own the sequel, should try the first. Good game by any standards, though the story can drift a bit. Great traditional gameplay, though I played the remake, alter code F on ps2 myself which has some ups and some downs compared to the original. Either will suffice though. Hell on that recommendation, I'd aim for the entire wild arms series. After 3, they switch to a newer hexagonal style battle field which allows for more tactical placement and strategy, and seeing as how you liked ffta2, this may appeal to you.

Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre: Out-fucking-Standing games, FFT being my personal favorite game ever. These 2 vs ffta2 are like comparing lord of the rings to the cat in the hat. Deep, tragic, and impressive vs...a cat in a hat. In terms of story, tactics ogre is the better game, but fft has a certain flare that I preferred, probably the simpler class advancement and progression. Both are easily available for psp and via ps3 through digital download to psp in case your local retailer forgot to stop being a douche and lower the price.

Breath of Fire 3 and 4: Psx titles again, though available on psp as well if you prefer the portability. Though 3 is arguably better, both games are pretty awesome traditional rpgs. Great stories, simple gameplay mechanics, nothing mind numbing to stress you out during a playthrough. These 2 are games for people who just want to play their rpg, not spend 45 minutes a dungeon asking which fucking way do I go now?.

Smt stuffs: a few platforms actually, this is stuff like persona series, nocturne, digital devil saga, devil summoner, and I think something else I missed. I personally don't like smt games, because they made them difficult due to overly complicated  stat weakneses, status effects that worked really well on you but never your opponent, and in the case of persona 3 a team of a.i. controlled asshats. Digital Devil Saga is probably the least threatening of the group, and doesn't involve pointing a gun at your head at any point either. However, if mindnumbing difficulty from handicapping you as a player is what you like...i won't stop you.

Star Ocean series: I know at some point you mentioned you didn't like the battle system in the last hope, which astounds me considering you liked tales of symphonia's battle system, which is basically the same on a 2d scale with 3d running. I'd try these games again if I were you, only give it some time. One of the perks of star ocea is as you progress, battles become far more intricate, and battle options really open up. If you still can't gey behind the last hope, try 1 and 2 out instead, though 1 is only available through psp if your in canada and the u.s. It should remind you of older tales games if you ever played those. Star ocean 2 is available on ps1 too, though good luck finding it.

My last suggestion if you still think you're super oldschool and just can't get past it is get an snes. Go play earthbound, super mario rpg, ffii and ffiii (v and vi if you wanna get technical), lufia 1 and 2( though you should play 2 first, it's a prequel and WAY better), secret of mana, and easily dozens more. Limiting yourself due to dislike of a system is a terrible thing btw. All the systems suck, as nintendo sony and ms are all a bunch of money grubbing assholes who care more about sales numbers than making customers happy. Course, people suck so you can't blame them too much, but yeah...fuck em all own everything and play whatever you want, no limitations.

[MeshGearFox]

I personally don't like smt games, because they made them difficult due to overly complicated  stat weakneses, status effects that worked really well on you but never your opponent

Stat weaknesses were only complicated in P2 because there were tons. After that they were pretty straightforward. To the extent that, in the absence of press turn and some of the constraints Nocturne placed on your skill loadouts, Strange Journey and P3 pretty much just turned into color matching games.

Also status effects definitely work on opponents and are near-require a lot to win.

Also @BoF4: It had way too many minigames. Such as that "ride the nautilus in this endless desert" bit. BoF4 also really scaled back the usefulness of the characters' map skills, which was... one of the only interesting things with 1 and 2.

@Star Ocean: Tales of games, at least from Eternia onwards, had much freer movement and attacking than the SO games did. SO3 felt sluggish as hell compared to ToS from what I remember, despite having more in-depth combat. SO2 less so although its combat wasn't really as refined and was still less hands-on feeling.

SO2 I rather enjoyed but I found the item making to be rather useless. Same for cooking in Tales although that wasn't a core feature in the way that item creation was in SO2.

If you liked ToS combat I'd be more apt to recommend something like TWEWY or the GBA remake of River City Ransom, or even Legend of Mana which is... basically a fantasy version of RCR. LoM I find harder to outright recommend because of the total lack of difficultly, but goddamn do I love its stories and settings.

Actually Devil Summoner 2 for the PS2 would probably be to your tastes if you like ToS, come to think of it.

[Zik]

How about Lost Odyssey? Its a great turn based JRPG from the creator of Final Fantasy and there is plenty of grinding if you choose to. The game looks great and the written memories in the game are phenomenal! Check it out if you want a great JRPG experience, also I recommend installing the discs to boost the loading speeds of the battle sequences.

Thats a great suggestion, so great that it was already on my list of games that Ive done in my first post ;p !

D tnegA : I said I liked old school rpgs, not pre-historic one.. Excuse me but yes, PS1 RPGs ARE oldschool, imo. The videogames industry changes so fast that in 15 years PS3 RPGs will probably be consider oldschool. You guys all seem to be so picky on the word old school.. Thanks for the suggestions though, its always appreciated and Ill look into it.

[MeshGearFox]

RPG standards and mechanics haven't changed much since the mid-PSX era. I'd have a hard time calling them oldschool on those grounds. there's been no major paradigm shift since then.

[Eusis]

RPG standards and mechanics haven't changed much since the mid-PSX era. I'd have a hard time calling them oldschool on those grounds. there's been no major paradigm shift since then.

Eh, SMB3 is unquestionably "old school" yet platformers haven't made many serious jumps since. I guess stuff like Super Metroid sorta counts, nevermind 3D platformers, but side scrollers aren't leaps ahead like, say, going from NES to PS1 RPGs. But then we've also been having fewer of the big jumps, I'd say FPS design mostly peaked int he late 90s and has since been mostly streamlining itself.

[MeshGearFox]

Well...

SMB3 and Kirby were really, really ahead of their time and kind of better than a lot of sidescrollers that came out quite a bit later. They don't really feel oldschool to me.

I'm also not sure the FPS genre's really improving. Streamlining, as you said, sure, but how much of that is improvement? Streamlining in a lot of modern FPSes feels more like... turning them into grand cinematic experiences that kind of suffer as games because they take out the degree of freedom and exploration that made so many of the late-90s, early-00s FPSes so fascinating. Call of Duty 2 was a good game, and definitely more streamlined and 'smoother' than CoD1, but I'd be hard pressed to say it was a better game.

Just cause I'm playing it lately, but Powerslave is basically a Metroidvania FPS, in the style of Quake 2 I guess. I'm not really seeing that *adventure gaming* aspect in most current FPSes.

Also not sure how much of a trend towards realism is a good thing. It's like, if you go all out and make something like OFP, it can be really cool. But the pseudo-realism is just... boring and kind of slows things down. You just don't see things as utterly blazing as Quake 3 anymore. It's kind of gone out of fashion. And I miss that.