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Recommend me a fantasy RPG like this please?

Adventurer Mage

Barely Literate
Joined
Jan 1, 2021
Messages
1
I'm looking for an RPG that's open world, or partially open-world like the old blobber games, where you go on adventures and have fun quests to complete, and quality writing like in old RPGs (Infinity Engine, Krondor, Might and Magic etc.), at least dialogue-wise - I don't mind what the plot is like, as long as the dialogues feel atmospheric, like in older RPGs.

Something like Realms of Arkania and Might and Magic 6-8, but I don't mind if it's a blobber or an isometric game, ARPGs are okay too.

I love puzzles and traps in games, is there anything out there besides the MM games and RoA that has that?

I don't want anything that's got a sad, depressing or grimdark world though, just a normal, fun world like MM or other classic RPGs would be great. Games with grey morality like the Witcher are also not what I'm looking for, and I don't want anything that's got horrible monsters as its prevalent type of enemies, the like brain/weird monsters in Dungeon of the Dragon Knight (the traps lookedbrilliant though!).

(I'd also prefer if the game doesn't contain much sexism, I'm fine when games have the typical save the damsel stuff, but I hate it when NPCs are sexist towards the party/other people and you can't do anything about it (like fight them or verbally hit them back, like in Arcanum).)

I'd love something where the NPCs are like in Baldur's Gate 1, MM or JRPGs, so they're not like the randomized NPCs in Daggerfall, but they're custom placed like in most RPGs, even if they have just a one line, so the world feels real and not randomly generated (Fate: Gates of Dawn seemed similar to this, from an LP and a review I saw).

I love older games and I loved Eye of the Beholder, Might and Magic 6-8 and Realms of Arkania 3, as well as BG 1.

And games with complex systems/lots of skills, perks and spells to choose from are great.

I love old RPGs, so older RPGs are preferable to newer ones, but I like finding out about new, fun RPGs too! I know about Wizadry8, so no need to recommend me that game, though. Feel free to recommend other games I haven't mentioned - and whether Krondor would fit this, since I've only seen bits of it.

Speaking of which, would the Ishtar series fit this? The first game seems like it doesn't have as much story and NPCs/quests like MM 6-7 has, but I've seen only bits of an LP. But the review I read made it seems like it's more story dense, was it perhaps for a later game in the series?

I know not many games have traps and puzzles, so I'm good if a game features only some, or not many, but otherwise it's a great RPG that feels like MM/ROA/BG1, or something that's perhaps more linear but still dialogue-dense enough with nice writing.
 
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Erebus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
4,763
Speaking of which, would the Ishtar series fit this?

Ishar, you mean ? I've only played the first game and I wouldn't recommend it. It's not exactly terrible, but it's significantly inferior to Might & Magic. The exploration is much more limited and much less enjoyable, the main plot is very basic, the setting is forgettable and the optional quests are pretty much non-existent.

The second game seemed a bit more developed, but it was plagued by a lot of bugs when I attempted to play it, so I gave up on it fairly quickly.

I don't know what the third game is like.
 

Darth Canoli

Arcane
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Messages
5,687
Location
Perched on a tree
I'm looking for an RPG that's open world, or partially open-world like the old blobber games, where you go on adventures and have fun quests to complete, and quality writing like in old RPGs (Infinity Engine, Krondor, Might and Magic etc.), at least dialogue-wise - I don't mind what the plot is like, as long as the dialogues feel atmospheric, like in older RPGs.

Besides Grimoire, i can also recommend:
- Legends of Amberland (not dialogue heavy though)
- The quest (it has everything you mentionned, huge open world, a lot of quests) but you only control one character.
 

Nortar

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 5, 2017
Messages
1,407
Pathfinder: Wrath
Have you seen Operencia?
Might be a bit shit in writing department, but it's a pretty solid blobber with just right mixture of exploration, combat and puzzles.
 

V_K

Arcane
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
7,714
Location
at a Nowhere near you
Lords of Xulima - its writing may be rough at times, but there isn't too much of it (roughly MM3-5 quantities). Fits the bill perfectly otherwise, with complex character system and a huge emphasis on exploration, puzzles and traps.
Legend of Grimrock 2 - if you don't mind DM-style real time blobbers. The world is small - just one island - but it's quite open and puzzles/traps galore.
If you don't mind NES-style graphics, Voidspire Tactics and its second sequel Horizon's Gate are also great exploration-centric games. Voidspire has a smaller but more fleshed out world, while Horizon's Gate has elements of naval strategy to it.
Dark Disciples 1&2, if you haven't played them, are absolute gems of obscure RPGs - their level design is some of the best I've ever seen, offering multiple paths through most obstacles depending on your character build.
 

VHS9000

Novice
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
46
Location
Moscow
I don't want anything that's got a sad, depressing or grimdark world though, just a normal, fun world like MM or other classic RPGs would be great.
For the lighthearted fantasy adventure pick Drakensang: The River of Time. Be careful - game will crash by default on Windows 10 so run it in the windowed mode.
 

Thal

Augur
Joined
Apr 4, 2015
Messages
413
Ultima Underworld has everything you're looking for and more. It might be a bit dark (as it happens underground) but I wouldn't call it depressing.

I can also recommend Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds. They're not dialogue heavy though, but what they have gets the job done.
 

Lady_Error

█▓▒░ ░▒▓█
Patron
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
1,879,250
Lords of Xulima
Grimoire
Wizardry 7
Ultima Underworld

These seem to fit the bill of what you are describing and are great games. Among the best actually.
 

Dick

Educated
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
48
Maybe Avernum 3 (this even has a remake, but I can only speak about the 200x version)
it´s isometric, has quality writing, very open world, a somewhat complex skill system, with perks
though it tends to be more combat-orientated, but I think it does have some minor to medium puzzles
 

lukaszek

the determinator
Patron
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
12,624
deterministic system > RNG
 
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Alter Sack

Magister
Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
2,203
Expeditions Viking

newer game but pretty underrated. Good turn based combat. Big world to explore (maybe not really open world).
Also interesting companions.
 

Alter Sack

Magister
Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
2,203
Since you like Wizardry games I would also recommend

Rance VI: The Collapse of Zeth

Admitted, it's not open world. But the gameplay is pretty wizardry-like.
It also has a pretty based main character with a lot of memoriable companion interactions. The game also has arguably the best romances in the rpg genre.
So as a connoisseur of tasteful romances the game is right up your alley.
 

Leonard

Educated
Joined
Aug 10, 2018
Messages
35
Lots of games by Jeff Vogel, I'd recommend early Avernums (1-3, not the remakes), Geneforge 1 or 2 or Nethergate. Extremely open world (More so for Avernum, Avernum 2 and Nethergate have a bit of a linear start), lots of exploration, decent writing, but not excessively worded, some puzzles, but the games aren't heavy on them.
 

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