I am currently having a very interesting experience; my girlfriend decided to move in with me and after she saw all the old school RPGs I have she got curious and decided she wanted to try them as a way to getting to have something fun to share (besides all the rampant sex and whatever
) but since she is 10 years younger than me, and used to modern graphics and whatever I wanted to pick some stuff that had great gameplay even if the graphcs were a bit dated...
Since she is into anime and all that stuff I decided to start her offwith some JRPGs and lighter RPGs, I have basicaly have a sort of list in mind fo her, these are not the "Best of Best" or my favorites by any means, of course I like them all, but I have learned to check her responses to them, if she thinks they are too complicated, slow or repetitive I try something different for the next game...so far we have done 5 in the last year (the first 5 on this list) but I would eventualy like her to try them all...once again before you get your panties in a bunch, remeber this are not my favrite games , ut games I am recommending to a new RPG gamer....oh and I like console game too so tough if you dont think they are "real" RPGs
Quest for Glory 2 (the new VGA Version, really well done and highly recommended; she likes adventure games so this proved to be a great introduction)
Lunar Eternal Blue (fun, uncomplicated game but with surprisingly deep combat, great anime sequences to keep her happy, short and sweet)
Shin Megami Tensei Nocture (the quintessential JRPG with weird storyline, lots of combat and beautifuk cel shaded graphics....oh and for those that think that these games are linear adventures games with lots of combat, it actualy had over 5 endings)
Fallout (I almost screwed up with this one, she didnt like the older graphics and the vats was a bit too much of a change from the realtime or staright uo turn based games before)
SKyrim (She caught me playing and was transfixed by it...I wanted her to try Morrowind first, but in the end it is going great. She spends more time trying out outfits for her character and trying out mods than actualy playing but it is fun for us both, her playstyle and choices are completly diferent than mine and we have some great talks about the game and its lore...whoever says that its whackamole is correct, its as good as wackamole gets to me, and has actualy gotten her interested in playing the earlier games)
Next up I want her to try the Infinty engine (and please any self respecting RPG gamer who claims not to like or at least respect the Infinity engine is playing the big bad "gourmet shit" kind I despise) since she likes adventure games I plan on unleashing Planescape Torment on her over the Holidays
In no particular order these are the games I would recommend to any self respecting RPG gamer besides the above
The Summoning (one of the must underated game ever, it had great combat, storyline and wonderfull dungeoning setting)
Darklands (My favorite RPG of all time hands down)
Might and Magic 3 (unliked some of the oldies the graphics and gameplay are so good they hold up quite nicely)
KOTOR (i actualy prefer the second one better, but the fact that Star Wars has become one of the modern myths of society makes this a must play)
Dragon Age Origin (The perfect medling of old school sensibilities and combat, with modern stroytelling and yes... gay elf sex)
Baldur´s Gate II (If D&D is the fpunding father of modern RPG mythology, then this game is the finest example of it, engaging epic story, deep startegic combat and memorable companions)
Vagrant Story (a masterpiece melidng of several console genres, adventure, startegy, even stealth with a deep brooding story)
Ultima 7 (The pinnacle of the Ultima series, and maybe the genre, still unmatched in its scope and ambition...although 6 is still my favorite)
Xenogears (another melding of two of my greatest loves; ginath mechs and RPGs...weird mature storyline with awesome combat)
Icewind Dale 2 (the swan song of the Infifnty Engine, with some of the best combat and chacarter development ever)
Legend of Zelda The Ocarina of Time (Tough call between this and A Link to the Past, but his one wins out for the simple fact that it almost singlehandedly designed all the modern 3D designs)
Arx Fatalis (the somewhat modern decendant of the Ultima Underworld games, with a unique magic system and a well devlped mythology)
Wizardry 7 (hands down the RPG I have replayed the most, with a high learning curve, challenging combat and quite hard but stausfying)
Chrono Chross (I actualy prefer this than Chrono Trigger..its almost heresy but think this game had much more charm and heart)
Final Fantasy Tactics (the proof that staregy games do not have to be complicated to be deep, engaging and fun)
Secret f the Silver Blades (one of the my first Goldbox games, with a superb gameplay and quite a change of pace storyline)
Phantasy Star II (another great example of JRPGs)
Deus Ex (come on need I explain?)
Morrowind (My favorite TES game, great ambiance, great memeorable storyline and the best Adversary ever besides my next game...)
System Shock 2 (Shodan is simply the best adversary I have ever faced in any game, as chaty as The Guardian, as evil as Ganon, as righteous as Jon Irenicus and as crazy as Kefka...a masterpiece of mood, gameplay and design)
Vampire the Mascarede Bloodlines (made vampires cool almost 10 years before all the Twlight angst and whatever...and even better with the unoffical patches)
Freedom Force (I am a sucker for comics books too..so this is a gimme)
Eye of the Beholder 2 (Oh those sleepless nights in boardschool playing till the birds started chripping...)
I have not played Fallout New Vegas and the Witcher 2 but I hear they arre pretty good too
So...haters gonna hate...so let´s get it started....
