Vapourware RPGs that can legitimately be called masterpieces

[Van-d-all]

New tag "storyfags must burn"

Or combatfag minority

Storyfags suck.

Good thing I've been dual classing combatfag then.

 

[Nutmeg]

The goldbox games are about as good as they get.

The genre as a whole is irredeemably flawed. As is it's cousin genre "adventure".

Just compare HoMM3 to MM6. Don't get me wrong, I think MM6 is a great RPG, perhaps one of the greatest, but by changing the genre while keeping most other variables the same you see an improvement many orders of magnitude.

Succinctly put, the flaw with RPGs is that they have no pressure.

Roguelikes solve this to some degree (e.g. food in DCSS), as do many arcade action RPGs (e.g. the timer in Cadash).

So yeah, in other genres you can find all the good things in an RPG and none of the bad things.

 

[Nano]

Could make RPG set in realistic setting with only humans, and it could be masterpiece.

Ever play Alpha Protocol?

 

[Lilura]

Ever play Alpha Protocol?

Ever been in my iggy bin?

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Ever play Alpha Protocol?

Ever been in my iggy bin?

Oy vey, didn't know that Lilura was an antisemite.

 

[Nano]

Ever been in my iggy bin?

No, but it sounds like a lovely place. How do I get there?

 

[Lilura]

The goldbox games are about as good as they get.

Succinctly put, the flaw with RPGs is that they have no pressure.

Ever played Jagged Alliance 2, Fallout, Warband or Swordflight? No, you haven't. But to you, the Goldbox games are as good as RPGs get.

Tragic.

 

[kinzadza]

Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 9
Front Mission 3

 

[Quillon]

RPGs have peaked with New Vegas We'll never see another RPG dev pool as talented as pre-2012 Obsidian's

 

[fantadomat]

Could make RPG set in realistic setting with only humans, and it could be masterpiece.

I seriously doubt it.
To make a masterpiece, you need skills and imagination, nobody with enough imagination would settle for that shit so it'll never happen.

Are you retarded? Read what I said and then what you said in response.

You just said that an RPG cannot be a masterpiece if its setting is realistic and it only has humans in it. I mean, forreal?

Your pea-sized brain could not conceive of such an RPG?

Also, skills and imagination cannot be put to use if a setting is realistic and human-based?

I repeat: ARE YOU RETARDED.

FireFly

Also to make things that don't exist even if realistic,you need imagination.....like Jules Verne

 

[Nutmeg]

Ever played Jagged Alliance 2, Fallout, Warband or Swordflight? No, you haven't. But to you, the Goldbox games are as good as RPGs get.

Tragic.

Fallout has a timer, but it's trivial. The entire game can be completed in 5 minutes.

Jagged alliance 2 is fine, but it has similar degenerate strategies.

Warband definitely has no pressure.

Haven't played swordfight.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Ever been in my iggy bin?

No, but it sounds like a lovely place. How do I get there?

Repeat after me: "Jagged Alliance 2 is a shit rpg".

Should get you where you want to be

 

[Divine Blessing]

Masterpiece: A work of outstanding skill, mastery or workmanship.

Note how it says "a work". In other words, it isn't enough for an RPG to have great this or great that, but fail elsewhere. When taken as a whole, the RPG must equate to a masterpiece. Thus, Troika games are out despite my undying love for them.

There are not many masterpieces.

quoted general definition of masterpiece is as vague as specification (of work) is nonsense:

1. outstanding skill:
no specification - what skill(s)? coding (as loading times etc. r as important as quest design, 30s Loading Screen is a gamebreaker, AI - pathing, combat etc), design etc?
no relation - oustanding to what? the contemporary genre, the whole industry or the state of the genre at release.
a definition of skill per se is non-existant in this "definition".
2. mastery:
isnt mastery the (positive) evolution of skill and therefore "outstanding" skill? but what defines mastery? outstanding skill, i guess or maybe:
3. workmanship:
the result of skill, erm, mastery

but thats ez to understand, as all of the above criteria for masterpiece have to be overall coherent quality in most or every (?) aspect to "equate a masterpiece".

to summarize quoted definition: a masterpiece is a masterpiece*

*note: do not argue with me, as i have the ultimate definition.

there is this existential minimum of analytical criteria required for any gourmet taste to distinct from the plebs (those play games and blog about them too). so again - what is the definition of a masterpiece?

 

[Goromorg]

Underrail is very close to perfection, the things that would bring it to 10/10 are better enemy AI, better balance of armor, weapons and psionics, more non-combat C&C and mod support.
My rating for different aspects of the game:

Exploration........
World design.....
Combat.............
Story.................
Dialogue............
Sci-Fi elements...
C&C...................​

Soundtrack.........
Visual design......
UI......................
Performance
on weak PC's......
Replayability.......

OVERALL............9,5 out of 10​

My verdict: this game is a masterpiece at the level of Fallout 1 and is better than Fallout 2
F1=UR>F2

 

[Lilura]

Fallout has a timer, but it's trivial. The entire game can be completed in 5 minutes.

Do you know who I am? Let me tell you: I'm the one who posted a dedicated write-up on Fallout's time-based reactivity.

You can't tell me anything about Fallout.

Now, tell me about Goldbox time-based reactivity. In fact, give an example of its reactivity that is comparable to Fallout's multi-faceted implementations.

Jagged alliance 2 is fine, but it has similar degenerate strategies.

Again, do you know who I am? I'm the one who posted a first-ranked-on-Google retrospective for Jagged Alliance 2.

You can't tell me anything about Jagged Alliance 2.

Now, tell me about Goldbox turn-based tactics. Even Baldur's Gate offers more tactics than the Goldbox.

When replying, please keep in mind that you are the idiot who said "Goldbox is as good as RPGs get", when at least a dozen RPGs have smashed the Goldbox into pieces.

 

[barghwata]

Ever been in my iggy bin?

No, but it sounds like a lovely place. How do I get there?

Repeat after me: "Jagged Alliance 2 is a shit rpg".

Should get you where you want to be

Actually you don't have to go that far, all i had to do was tell her that Fallout is a better RPG then JA2 to secure my spot.

 

[fantadomat]

Seeing her ignore list....well our dragon lady does need to get laid. Sadly with all the Hong Kong drama going on,all the chads are out there fighting the protesters.

 

[undecaf]

How many cRPG with terrible sound effects have you played ? Would you rate them as marterpieces ?

Of course not, because a terrible sound environment will just break the immersion at first and get on your nerves real quick, turning the sound off just makes the whole experience bland.

Some. But sound effects don’t affect my considering them as shit or masterpice or whatever’s in between. The appreciation comes from more tangible sources.

I’ve regarded Wasteland 1 pretty highly as a wholesome experience inspite its...”sound effects”, for example.

 

[Lilura]

My verdict: this game [Underrail] is a masterpiece at the level of Fallout 1 and is better than Fallout 2
F1=UR>F2

If Underrail is a masterpiece, then Jagged Alliance 2 must have been the work of the gods themselves. Because Jagged Alliance 2 came out 13 years beforehand, and smashes Underrail into pieces.

Moreover, the very fact that Fallout still outranks Underrail (or in your estimation equates to) proves how much of an utter joke the latter is, since it came out 16 years afterwards.

 

[Tito Anic]

My mum is masterpiece

 

[octavius]

Succinctly put, the flaw with RPGs is that they have no pressure.

 

[fantadomat]

My mum is masterpiece

Show us a feet pics then!

 

[Tito Anic]

Show us a feet pics then!

Google it!

 

[Cryomancer]

I love Gothic 1/2/3, all of then are masterpieces IMO but each gothic has his problems.

G1 - Is too short. According to how long to beat, only Arcania(15 hours) and forsaken gods(17 hours) are shorter than G1(22 hours), source : https://howlongtobeat.com/#search1

G2 - I din't liked the mage gameplay; Looks like the devs assumed that you ended G1 as a warrior and the mage gameplay isn't exactly good. I say that because Xardas who teaches you circle 6? He can't teach circle 1 and take you as a apprentice now. Why Milten can't give a testimony that you was a fire magician apprentice of Corristo who helped a lot on old camp and be accepted as a fire mage? Why you can't make peace with water mages by proving then that you did the right thing on G1? Why you can only be on ring of water, not in circle of water? Being accepted into the circle of fire requires a lot of boring quests. Sheep escorting, then put a novice to sleep to steal a weapon and use against a golem(completely against what a Lawful good servant of Innos should do. A novice who steals should be expelled, not promoted) and finally when you can be a fire magician, you can cast TWO fire arrows and ran out of mana...

On my mage run, i was using mostly Summon skeleton Goblin or Ice block and spamming melee attacks. Damaging spells are trash. On G1, most spells had 20~50 damage per mana Cost. On G2, most spells had a 6 damage/mana ratio... A mage who invested 95 LP on the first game to have 100 mana, could throw 10 Storm of Fires totalizing 5000 damage in area of effect. On NotR, the same 95 LP starting with 10 mana and investing 20 to reach 30, then 60 points to reach 60 will have only 15 LP left, enougth to have 65 mana. 65 Mana could only throw 3 Small fire Storms and not even a single charged Large Fire Storm. To kill a Orc Warrior, i need at least 4 Small Storms.

G3 - Is unfinished. Is barely playable without the community path and at least consequences mod.

But G3 is my favorite by a simple reason. Water Magic early on. You can only become a water mage on Gothic 1 at chapter 4. On Gothic 2, you can't become a water mage at all. But on G3, you can after leveling few levels and inesting into ancient knowledge, find a druid and start to learn water magic early on. And water mage spells are cooler than ever. HAilstorm, summon golem(on g1 was a scroll only spell), tame even shadowbeasts, put guys into sleep, ice explosion...

 

[Farewell young Prince into the night]

Hearing "Gothic 3" and "masterpiece" together in the same sentence is a new one for me.