Retro RPGs on PS store

A forum for non-Suikoden games.
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

Post by sticky-runes »

The White Witch thing looks sweet, and I do like Studio Ghibli's visuals, but it looks like there are too many kiddy characters.

I'm currently taking a break from gaming. I will finish Grandia eventually, but it feels like its dragging on too long. And it doesn't change much, you get to a town, have an unexciting incident happen with the town's leader, then go off and explore dungeons or mountain paths until you get to the next town, and the same thing happens again. At least Suikoden games throw other things into the mix like major battles and opportunities to recruit more characters so it's not tedious.
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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I've now moved on to Final Fantasy 9. It's very annoying when the team splits up every time I enter a town. And the "trance" feature sucks. They should have kept limit breaks.
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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I still haven't finished any of these games.

At the moment I'm back to playing Pier Solar. It's such a badly designed game. There are towns where you have to go through underground passages inside random people's homes to get to basic locations such as a dock or train station, no streets that lead straight there, you have to enter someone's house and walk through their fricking basement.

And every town has long narrow walkways that NPCs like to wander into. You know that guy in Suikoden 1 who hangs out at the dock in Kaku? Well imagine him x2000!!!

The only thing they've really done a good job of is the background music. There are some catchy tunes in dungeons and towns that makes wandering around like a moron slightly less unpleasant.

Oh, and when you're on a quest to gather information, the characters are scripted to only ask the apropriate question at the most inapropriate time. For example I was wandering around a huge city looking for some guy, and one of my allies asks a young boy if he knows the person, to which the boy replies "No, but my dad might know if you ask him" and his dad turns out to be the innkeeper who we've rented a room from a dozen times already. The characters didn't think to fricking ask the innkeeper in the first place??? And this happens repeatedly throughout the game.
Antimatzist
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

Post by Antimatzist »

Iirc Pier Dolar was one of the First retro-style Indie RPGs and thankfully nobody remembers it anymore. It looks so nice, but is so bad.
Jastreb_J21
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

Post by Jastreb_J21 »

I've recently restarted playing Suikoden IV (that's why I'm here), which I'm playing along with Ace Combat 04 when I launch the PS2.
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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And I'm done with Pier Solar. Just got to the part at the magic school where you have to do a trial crossing a series of slippery walkways in under a minute without falling. That game can suck my balls.
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Rooks
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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Antimatzist wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 12:55 am Iirc Pier Dolar was one of the First retro-style Indie RPGs and thankfully nobody remembers it anymore. It looks so nice, but is so bad.
I know that Animatzist swears by the Growlanser games, which are on the N. American PSN store, and I plan to pick up rather soon. Also, I have it on good information that La Pucell Tactics is pretty good, and I plan to pick that one up.

Other than that, Persona 2, Persona 3 FES, and Persona 4 are on the PSN, at least in N. America here, and those are absolutely a must, after the Suikoden games, obviously.
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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I've downloaded Secret of Mana, the PS4 remake. I never played the original SNES version, but I've always been curious about it. I'm liking it, but I kinda wish I was playing it with the original 2d graphics. The menus are horrendous. Whats with all the circles?? Lists and grids please. My fragile mind can handle circular menues.

I'm also playing Stardew Valley. I like it. A very laid back game where the focus goes on conservation and foraging and growing crops and the questing stuff is more of a side feature. Some basic items are ridiculously expensive, though. And the inventory is a bit f#cked. If you combine items to make something new and your inventory is full, then you are forced to delete something. Not too happy about that. And the day is about 10 minutes long, so you've got very limited time to use the shops. One of the main shops in town is closed on a particular day, and sometimes the shop owner doesn't even stand at the till so you have to come back when he's actually serving customers. I do wonder if there has ever been an RPG designed by someone who actually has retail experience!
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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Stardew Valley has been keeping me occupied for most of my quarantine period. I'm on my third in-game year and going through a tough slog because in my second year I bought tons of animals but didn't store enough hay to last through winter, so now I'm desperately trying to replenish. It's good that a game can have long lasting consequences if you're not careful.

I tried to be a loyal customer to the guy who runs the general store, but it's not helpful that he closes on Wednesday, so I ended up shopping at his competitor!
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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Lately I've been in the mood for some tactical RPGs.

I had a go at Banner Saga. I love the 80s style handdrawn animation, but the battlemaps are basic and boring. No obstacles or terrain changes, just flat maps. And you can't do your own manual save, you have to rely on the game's auto-save, which can make it tricky if you make a wrong decision and want to go back and save a character from being killed in the story. Battles come at you relentlessly while you're travelling. I might have to restart this game from scratch and play it in easy mode.

Fell Seal: Mark of The Arbiter is a tactical RPG I can definitely recommend. Lots of classes to choose from with different abilites to learn and combine. You can also create your own custom characters to fight alongside the story characters. The game is generous with its difficulty settings - you can make it as easy or as challenging as you like. The music is very reminiscent of Vandal Hearts. The main character is female, which is a refreshing change.
Last edited by sticky-runes on Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JuveLeo
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

Post by JuveLeo »

Sticky-Runes, if you haven't already, you should try the Persona games. Great JRPGs and it became my 2nd Favorite to Suikoden when i first played it a year or two ago.
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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I may try persona one day. Are they all 3d, or are the earlier games top down with sprites?

I prefer to go for less famous names, they tend to pique my curiosity more than the well known ones.
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JuveLeo
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

Post by JuveLeo »

sticky-runes wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 8:29 am I may try persona one day. Are they all 3d, or are the earlier games top down with sprites?

I prefer to go for less famous names, they tend to pique my curiosity more than the well known ones.
The first 2 games are top down with sprites and the other three are 3D. The original game is a little rough and outdated, so i highly recommend Persona 2: Innocent Sin. You need a PSP or a Vita to play it though.
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sticky-runes
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Re: Retro RPGs on PS store

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Now i'm playing The Graveyard Keeper. It's in the same vein as Stardew Valley, but it's got a bit of dark humor to it. You are a man from modern times who gets killed in a road accident and you wake up ina medieval village where it becomes your duty to tend to the local graveyard and church. There is lots to do and lots to learn, but I would not say it's better than Stardew Valley. They've overdone it with the resource requirements - you can't just use the same type of wood to craft certain items, you have to cut the wood into the right shape, and you need to unlock and build a different tool to craft each type of wood resource, so that's a real drag. I'm spending more time carpenting than tending the graveyard because the donkey who delivers corpses for me has gone on strike and I have to find or craft a rare item to appease him. This game is really just making me want to replay Stardew Valley.

Ara Fell is a lovely turn based RPG set on an island floating in the sky. You play a plucky female hero who discovers a magical ring that endows her with special powers - sounds soooo original, but this game has some surprisingly good worldbuilding, and it encourages you to pursue side qests before progressing with the main story. And the main heroin is not a silent protagonist - she has her own dialogue, and she's pretty hilarious, constantly having to deal with every NPC's remarks about how short she is. The humour is kind of Buffy meets Daria, and the music is very pretty.
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