What elements would you take from various RPG's...

[Noobien]

to make the best one?

personally i would take the scale of daggerfall, the setting and combat system of mass effect, the music of FF8, the characterisation of lost odyssey, the plot of FF7.

TEH BEST RPG EVAH!!!!

[Sagacious-T]

Everything you said, except the complete opposite

[xXMelancholiaXx]

This is a bit complicated. Can I reference anime for plot design and characterization? I couldn't think of any RPG's that fit my ideas for those. :(

Setting: I'll probably go for some reminiscent of Ergo Proxy but in a more dystopia style environment.
Plot Design: I'd combine things Boogiepop Phantom, Ergo Proxy, Serial Experiments Lain, and some elements of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga, and cyberpunk overtones.
Music: Music wise I'd probably go for something experimental like found in Persona 3 but I'd also use a lot of Industrial oriented tracks.
Combat System: For the combat system I believe something turn based would suffice.

That's really all I can think of right now.

[Tomara]

Well, it would be like Suikoden, but with floating continents and active city building. The liberation army's HQ is located on an island that can actually move, because of some cool mechanic the ancients build in. Oh and there will be large scale strategic turn-based battles with airships and dragons and other cool stuff.

So basically, you put Suikoden, Skies of Arcadia, Bahamut Lagoon, the Soulblazer games and maybe some Dark Cloud in a blender. Music by Kenji Ito and Tsuyoshi Sekito. Or Yoko Shimomura. Or Noriyuki Iwadare, if he's able to give it the feel of the original Grandia.

[Losfer]

the plot of FF7

[Parn]

the characterisation of lost odyssey

I want to punch you in the face.

[Raziel]

scale of daggerfall

the plot of FF7.

I sense a contradiction.

[Wild Armor]

Everything you said, except the complete opposite

This made me giggle. I look for music in a videogame before I purchase it, so I'm not looking for much to begin with. Usually the main hero in a lot of rpgs is either an ass, idiot, greatest guy in the world or an indecisive bastard. Just give me an RPG with good music. I order Y's VI for that reason.

[Dincrest]

I'm not so sure about Franken-RPGs.  Just because you like the individual ingredients doesn't mean they'll go well together.  For example, I love chocolate.  I also love cheeseburgers.  However, a chocolate cheeseburger just doesn't work.  A hunk of Cadbury's in a bun with a medium-rare beef patty and melted cheese would probably taste pretty foul. 

Still, one component that would be in my ideal RPG would be a killer airship.  One that looks badass and travels quickly.  One where I can walk around it and talk to party members.  I miss the unbridled joy of flying around RPG worlds in an airship. 

[MeshGearFox]

Technically, one of the outcomes would be Persona 3 because I'd combine Quest for Glory 2 with a roguelike.

I can't think of a lot of specific features, honestly. One thing I WANT to see in more games is a sort of "home base" with some degree of customization. Suik's fortresses, legend of mana's house, the dorm in persona 3, your room in the QfG2 remake (wasn't in the original, I don't believe). Maybe not so much city construction, although that can be a nice form of it. Houses in morrowind. The relto age in Uru.

Basically, something the player can call home, decorate a bit, something.

BIGGEST problem I have with... most RPGS, ever, is how linear *weapon* progression is. Most games are set up so you get to a new town, upgrade everyone's equipment, and ditch the old stuff. Dragon Quest is balanced so that this isn't always affordable or necessary, as I've said before, but it's still a pretty linear progression. Give weapons more unique properties or something, like in Morrowind kind of, or just stop messing with it and either get rid of standard equipment ala SMT:Nocturne or Torment, or adopt a Suik-ish upgrade system.

I also want more exploration. I guess I could say non-linearity but it's not really the same thing. I like non-linearity when it leads the player to discover Cool Stuff on their own as finding things is really rewarding. SoA's landmark system, maybe.

Also taking a page from QfG, non-combat stuff and puzzles with outcomes depending on your stats.

Or Persona 3 with demon conversations added back in.

[Noobien]

the characterisation of lost odyssey

I want to punch you in the face.

well the characterization wasnt exactly crap in that game (not in the first half anyway)

[Noobien]

scale of daggerfall

the plot of FF7.

I sense a contradiction.

??? by scale of daggerfall i mean size of the world map/exploration. i don't see why the plot would contradict the size of the game :S

[Noobien]

the plot of FF7

well i haven't played as many RPG's as most people here so i assume that statement would sound a bit silly to most of you. i found the story in FF7 to be good. it wasn't too convoluted (as something like the metal gear solid series, which isn't an RPG but i'm just using it as an example) and wasn't too shallow as well.

so yeah, please excuse my woeful lack of experience in RPG's but what i posted at the top is what i would like to see in an RPG and im sure most of you have your own opinions.

[Hidoshi]

Battle System
+ Suikoden's autobattle
+ Persona 3/4's team-up option
+ Chrono Trigger's double/triple tech abilities
+ Earthbound's auto-win on weak enemies
+ Final Fantasy VIII's stat customisation

Plot and Characters
+ FFVIII and Persona 4's ideas on characterisation.
+ Mother 3's ability to generate pathos.
+ Tales of Vesperia's dialogue.
+ Persona 4's voice acting.
+ Suikoden II's pacing.

Audio and Video
+ Persona 3/4's interface style
+ Suikoden II's "everything is clickable" feature
+ Chrono Trigger's style of musical composition.
+ Final Fantasy VIII's in-game-to-FMV integration.
+ Final Fantasy XII's texture work

Tah-daaaaah.

[Noobien]

the characterisation of lost odyssey

I want to punch you in the face.

well the characterization wasnt exactly crap in that game (not in the first half anyway)

wait scratch that, i just remembered how shitty cooke and mack were. i will save you the trouble of comming to australia to punch me and will just bang my head against a wall for a while.