My favorite RPG series

Hello internet users, how are are you all doing? DarkdaemonPK2 here writing from my new pad. Let me say one thing about RPGs: they are a huge time waster. For those who never played any RPGs, here’s the drill: you assume the identity of a hero in a quest to save the world from a demon lord who is trying to wreck havoc, you gather party members, you explore the world and get powerful weapons and items, you gain experience by bashing monsters to a bloody pulp to get stronger, and then you beat the ever living crap on the final boss and presto! The game is cleared. Inspired by Yomu’s blog about his favorite JRPG (I still refuse to say the ‘J’ on RPGs, dang it!) I decided to reminisce about the past about the RPG series that I played and enjoyed and write a post about it.

5. Pokémon
I played Pokémon a lot during during my youth (I’m not actually that old, maybe?) when Game Freak were still not yet pumping mediocre to half-@$$ed unfinished games. I would catch Pokémon,  level grind them for hours, and then defeat the Elite Four. After that I’d start from scratch and repeat. It would be repetitive but I enjoyed it but it finally took a toll on my mental state that it finally became stale and unappealing that I just dropped the game altogether. The newer Pokémon games did not help reinvigorate my interest on the franchise due to how mediocre and half-@$$ed they are now which made me avoid them like the plague. If I were to play Pokémon, I’d rather play the older ones since they were subjectively better.

4. Final Fantasy
Like Yomu, my first experience for a Final Fantasy game was Final Fantasy X. The graphics was jaw dropping glorious, the voice acting was top notch, the battle system was very easy and not complex, customizing your characters was fun, the story was superb, side quests and mini games were fun, and blah, blah, blah… After that, I went with Final Fantasy V and it was a really great game due to the awesome battle system and rich gameplay it has to offer through the job system. I spent hours on customizing my characters to get the best skill and combine it on a job that I have to make them more powerful. After that I haven’t played any FF game. Maybe I’m just lazy or have other things to do, but I vow to play FF IX as well in the future.

3. Dragon Quest
If there’s any other huge time waster compared to the hours I spent on playing Pokémon, then Dragon Quest will beat the living crap out of it. I saw one of my former friends play Dragon Quest 3 on GBC and I got intrigued. After that I played it on an emulator and fell in love with the series. After that I played Dragon Quest 9 and 8 with beating the former first. My US version PS2 conked out which prevented me from completing DQ 8 but I’ll complete it in the future. DQ’s formula hasn’t changed over the years: the protagonist is still silent, the combat is still turn-based, a giant land to traverse, secrets to be unearthed, challenging bosses, and so on. It’s a fun game anyone can have a good time.

2. Tales series
I would never be introduced to the Tales series without my richie-rich friend during my high school days. He was playing an unfamiliar game where he controlled his characters in real time during combat as he hacked and slashed monsters while his other party members gave support in terms of healing and magic spells. I was very late in the series since I never owned the PS1 Tales games in which I regretted to this day (try buying Tales of Destiny 1 and Tales of Eternia and you’ll get my point). The first Tales game I bought and played was Tales of Graces F for my PS3 way back 2012 (that’s when I jumped on the 7th generation of consoles). After that I bought Tales of Xillia and unfortunately, Zestiria. After that I got Tales of Vesperia and Berseria on Steam which is still on my backlog of games. I also played Tales of the Abyss for the PS2 and Nintendo 3DS. What I liked about the Tales series is the story, real time combat, graphics, and the skits in which characters interact outside of the story making them more human. I guess I’m just a huge Tales fan in the end.

Honorable Mentions
Before we go with my top pick for my favorite RPG series, here are some honorable mentions…

Paper Mario
I played, I controlled Mario and whacked enemies with a hammer, I lived. A game everyone can enjoy, even for those who hates RPGs in general.

Megaman Legends
The ad does say “free roaming RPG” therefore, this counts as an RPG, right? Aside from exploring dungeons and reducing enemy revearbots to scrap metal, you get to upgrade your equipment via buying it on shops or finding it on different locations. And the story, my word! Better than the classic Megaman/Rockman games, that’s for sure!

Castlevania
With the introduction of RPG elements on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PS1, Castlevania changed the game and introduced a new type of sub-genre for action RPGs in general. My first Castlevania was Order of Ecclesia. Hopefully, it will not be the last.

1. Breath of Fire 
When asking Capcom if they made any RPGs before, the answer is a definite yes. Enter the Breath of Fire series in which the 3rd game is my first RPG in general. I never played the 1st two games since I never got hold them (don’t asky why). I instantly loved BOF 3 since the combat is turned based and Ryu can transform into a variety of dragons depending on the dragon genes you have collected. The anime art style is good in which 2D characters mve on a 3D background. I also played BOF 4 but it wasn’t that good compared to 3. The last BOF I played was on the PS2 called Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. It was different compared to its predecessors since it combined survival elements ala Resident Evil. Almost everyone I know hated BOF V due to it’s extreme difficulty and complexity but I liked it to death after learning the ropes and mastering it. Sadly, Capcom seemed to have abandoned the series altogether after the failure of the Japan only BOF 6 which is a mobile exclusive. I’m still hoping for a real 6th game in the series. For now, the dragon slumbers, but not forgotten to us fans.

-DarkdaemonPK2

…And there you have. Any RPG series you like? Share it on the comments section below. Thanks for reading and have a good day. Want more Yomu content? Please visit Umai Yomu Anime Blog for all your anime blog needs.