The Best RPG Games: Pt. I
Greetings everyone! Today, I'm writing about my personal, RPG (Role Playing Games) favorites; and which ones I think are the best in that genre of gaming. Some of them I would place in the top 5 of the greatest video games ever made. This was not easy for me since I owned the original Nintendo (Yes with R.O.B), Sega Genesis (32x & Sega Genesis CD), Nintendo 64 & Game Cube, PlayStation 1 & 3 along with Xbox and Xbox 360. I also had a collection of PC games, so narrowing down this list was challenging at best but...
HERE I GO. . .
Final Fantasy VII
www.finalfantasyviipc.com
An energy manufacturing mega-company known as, Shinra, Inc., is harvesting the sheer life energy of the Planet (known as the Lifestream) as a simple fossil fuel. The Lifestream is processed and made into products ranging from electricity and heat to Mako and Materia. The latter two materials can work miracles, granting the wisdom of the Ancients to the user. However, the Lifestream, like most other fuels, is finite in supply, and the Planet's lifeforce is being malevolently drained by the constant exploitation of Mako by Shinra. Though aware of the harmful effects, they function without remorse.
However, the real battle lies not with a corporation, but a force much more competent from the distant past. A long-thought dead warrior bent on becoming a god by draining all of the Lifestream from the Planet has risen again and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Now a small rebel group emanating from the slums must quell the various dangers toward the innocent, and one mercenary for hire must look amidst the lies and deception and find the man he is within.
To me this was one of the greatest role-playing game I ever played. This came out in the late 90s' on PlayStation 1 console. I remember I was in college and before I went to classes, after classes and cross country/track practices I was playing this game (yes it took me almost a year to beat, which should explain the time differences of cross country and track season). This was one of the first games that when you input a personal name for a character it was completely absorbed into the game. I gave people names of my close friends and potential girlfriends (yea lol, I know and I won't list any of those names either) which gave me a more “closeness” to the game. The plot of a band of would-be-heroes battling against a corrupt government was right on point with me during my early years in school. I totally placed myself in the storyline and made it my own. For this reason it is the best role-playing game I ever played!
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The plot begins six years after the events of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind in 3E 433. Emperor Uriel Septim VII is assassinated as he attempts to flee from the Imperial City after learning that assassins have killed his sons. However, before his death, he hands the Amulet of Kings over to the person who would become the Hero of Kvatch, a lowly prisoner which Uriel had seen in his dreams, with instructions to close shut the 'Jaws of Oblivion'.
The adventure begins after a prison escape and with a quest to find a man named Jauffre - and eventually the long lost illegitimate son of Uriel, the last surviving heir to the Septim throne, hidden away for protection since his birth. Ultimately, the hero must stop the invasion from Oblivion and stand between the future of Tamriel and the Prince of Destruction himself.
This was such a marvelous game. I played it after it was out for over a year, more so with me buying a PlayStation 3 late. I always had an affection with the fantasy world. This inspired me and my friend, Everett, to create knights called the Avenging Knights, in grade school by drawing pictures and creating comic and pick-a-path books (to which I wrote a full length novel entitled, "Avenging Knights: Rebirth of Lost Honor"). This was the first Elder Scrolls I played and it did not disappoint at all. I was totally drawn into the game; played easily over 100 hours. I beat every aspect of the game, well close to it. I played all the guild missions and other side quests. I found every place on the map and left none unexplored. The storyline, how it all ties in with you as the main character was masterly done. Oh, Patrick Stewart voiced the Emperor Uriel Septim VII! Yep, icing on the mutherF$%#ing CAKE!!
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Opening Crawl:
Four thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Republic verges on collapse. DARTH MALAK, last surviving apprentice of the DARK LORD REVAN, has unleashed an invincible Sith armada upon an unsuspecting galaxy.
Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered and vulnerable as countless Knights fall in battle, and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith Master.
In the skies above the Outer Rim world of Taris, a Jedi battle fleet engages the forces of Darth Malak in a desperate effort to halt the Sith's galactic domination...
This game came out later; in the mid 2000s' I believe but it recapture my love for role-playing games. I was drawn into it but not like a Final Fantasy VII because of the storyline and how it loosely related to me. This was indeed the first game that the outcome changes bases on choices you made as the gamer. This was like the old-school, “Pick-A-Path” books on steroids, and as a video game too! When I played it the first time I wanted to be the villian. This was the first time in a game you could ultimately be a “bad guy!” Bad ass, and I was a bad ass Sith Lord. The second game in the KOTOR series was a great game as well; more with the ability to transform you companions into Jedi or Sith depending on your... AHEM... CHOICES!! This game was truly an innovator.
Well, that's it for now. . . Stay tuned for Part II!
