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Game Informer June cover: Top 100 RPGs of All Time
- Thread starter DKHF
- Start date
QuantumZebra
Member
Well mainly because Morrowind was the peak of Elder Scrolls. And there are RPGs better than it (FFVII, Baldur's Gate 2, System Shock 2, Deus Ex, etc.)
King Gilga
Member
To some there are RPGs that are better than it. Skyrim is my favorite TES title, and it ranks high for me on the overall RPG list just not at top position.
billy beane
Banned
Skyrim? Was this list made by a 12 year old?
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
Yes. Because TES is a series for only 12 year olds.
Skyrim was a monstrous success both citically and sales wise.
It also captured the imagination of millions of gamers for longer than most any game in memory. And many of those only played vanilla.
Common Knowledge
Member
I see that, fifteen years later, Gameinformer must still stand by their 6.75 The Thousand Year Door score. 
Yoda
Member
Skyrim isn't a bad game, but the best RPG of all time? I know I know, it's someone's opinion, but this rises to the level of a climate denier (figuratively). Let's briefly critique the main story, a feature all RPGs have in some capacity:
1. Unoriginal (lots of RPGs are guilty of this) - Your character think they're a nobody, then discover they are a messiah like character. It turns out you and only you are capable of saving the world from <insert incompetent antagonist/deus ex machina here>.
2. Lack of Depth - Given the viking-esque backdrop of holds and the medieval setting, this screams for political intrigue and conspiracies. Instead, we have near zero depth in this aspect, there are no unexpected twists or betrayals, and it has less complexity than a story you'd read in a middle school literature class.
3. Poor supporting characters - I can't think of a single character who I wouldn't consider one-dimensional, in fact, I'd stray from calling them characters and classify them as NPCs. This isn't something I'd expect when the game is "stream-lined" from Oblivion and Morrowind.
* Given that the characters aren't memorable, I literally don't care what happens to any of them, they may as well be stormtroopers. Ulfric Stormcloak executed? saved? No shits given!
There is one area I'll give credit to TSE in the story telling department and that's during exploration. Stumbling upon a dungeon (which most likely uses recycled assets) that is devoid of life and reading journal entries/notes about what happened instills a sense of wonder (albeit small) while progressing through the dungeon. The irony here is I'm probably projecting facts about the deceased characters personalities/struggle that aren't actually there and I don't have to suffer through poorly written VO work... Which is why I find it enjoyable in relation to aforementioned.
Most open world games suffer from meh stories, but this can be mitigated by:
- Relatable/likable characters and supporting characters
- Solid VO/scripts, the dialogue shouldn't sound like it was written in an afternoon
- Proper character motivations, even if the over-arching plot if convoluted
- Stay away from the "world revolves are me" protagonists (probably asking too much)
Sales and review scores !== masterpiece. I'm not saying either data point isn't relevant; but there are true standouts on this list that somehow are behind a AAA mainstream watered-down 1 foot deep themepark.
1. Unoriginal (lots of RPGs are guilty of this) - Your character think they're a nobody, then discover they are a messiah like character. It turns out you and only you are capable of saving the world from <insert incompetent antagonist/deus ex machina here>.
2. Lack of Depth - Given the viking-esque backdrop of holds and the medieval setting, this screams for political intrigue and conspiracies. Instead, we have near zero depth in this aspect, there are no unexpected twists or betrayals, and it has less complexity than a story you'd read in a middle school literature class.
3. Poor supporting characters - I can't think of a single character who I wouldn't consider one-dimensional, in fact, I'd stray from calling them characters and classify them as NPCs. This isn't something I'd expect when the game is "stream-lined" from Oblivion and Morrowind.
* Given that the characters aren't memorable, I literally don't care what happens to any of them, they may as well be stormtroopers. Ulfric Stormcloak executed? saved? No shits given!
There is one area I'll give credit to TSE in the story telling department and that's during exploration. Stumbling upon a dungeon (which most likely uses recycled assets) that is devoid of life and reading journal entries/notes about what happened instills a sense of wonder (albeit small) while progressing through the dungeon. The irony here is I'm probably projecting facts about the deceased characters personalities/struggle that aren't actually there and I don't have to suffer through poorly written VO work... Which is why I find it enjoyable in relation to aforementioned.
Most open world games suffer from meh stories, but this can be mitigated by:
- Relatable/likable characters and supporting characters
- Solid VO/scripts, the dialogue shouldn't sound like it was written in an afternoon
- Proper character motivations, even if the over-arching plot if convoluted
- Stay away from the "world revolves are me" protagonists (probably asking too much)
Sales and review scores !== masterpiece. I'm not saying either data point isn't relevant; but there are true standouts on this list that somehow are behind a AAA mainstream watered-down 1 foot deep themepark.
IcyRhythms
Member
The fact that Fallout 3 is in the top 20 and NV got the shaft makes this list irrelevant for life.
Common Knowledge
Member
I mean, NV is 36. I wouldn't call that "getting the shaft".
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
billy beane
Banned
There are tons of games that did everything you just said Skyrim did. A lot of them are RPGs, and a lot of those games are much better video games than Skyrim.
Hell Skyrim isn't even the best Elder Scrolls game.
Hell Skyrim is the best Elder Scrolls game. There are people that think this, I am one. This list apparently had people that think about Skyrim in a similar way.
billy beane
Banned
There are people who think the earth is flat is doesn't make it so.
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
YankeeDonB
Member
In other news, bees' knees continue to be this generation's most over-rated insect body part.
Yup, but let's be honest. We weren't expecting the list to be good.
IcyRhythms
Member
As an RPG, NV leaves Fallout 3 and Skyrim in the dust.
SirPinkyNose
Member
No Torchlight 2? Yeah right.
Stereogatari
Banned
Is SMTIII seriously not on that list?
Yeah. Very disappointed in Torchlight 2 not being there. I rank TL2 significantly higher than D3 (actually don't like D3 much).
Oh well. Decent list otherwise.
Ftfy
oneils
Member
At the risk of giving people seizures, my top 5 are skyrim, mass effect 3, Diablo 3, fallout 4, and final fantasy. Come at me.
I find I'm more interested in core gameplay loop than story and game systems. I tend to like games that I can play for hours on end while turning my brain off. Hence the list. I did like the conversations in the me trilogy, though.
I find I'm more interested in core gameplay loop than story and game systems. I tend to like games that I can play for hours on end while turning my brain off. Hence the list. I did like the conversations in the me trilogy, though.
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
There is a Might & Magic title on the list (Actually two of them really, combined into one game)
oneils
Member
Played morrowind a ton. But, like I said, I don't much care for game systems or story. So witcher is not my thing and morrowind got in it's own way a lot.
This is a tired response, that Ive heard countless times talking about games. Opinions vs facts, what are those?
I brillently made a typo when ctrl+fing and somehow also failed to catch that on my read-through of the list.
It actually does redeem the list for me. Might and Magic was a really important digital RPG in the 80s-mid 90s and Heroes of Might and Magic aside most people seem to have forgotten about it.
A few thoughts:
-The World Ends With You is too low. Way too low, actually. But at least it's there.
-Dragon Quest V's absence on this list is pretty sad.
-Switch the placements of Pokemon Red/Blue and Gold/Silver.
-Glad to see Phantasy Star IV that high! It deserves it.
-Xenosaga Episode I (not III?) above Xenogears...nah. Xenogears is better.
-Earthbound being on the list is cool. Mother 3 would have been nice as well. It's certainly more of an RPG than Destiny is.
-It would have been rad to see Etrian Odyssey III or IV on here. Unlikely as hell, though, especially considering GI's infamous review of the first one.
Also, the art style of the cover is...not very appealing. It's drawn well enough and it's colorful, but the style is...(looks at all of the angry posts about the cover art in this thread) bad. Sorry, artist guy, if you're looking in here.
edwardslane
Member
I like a lot of games on the list but
Fire emblems recent iterations are $$$ def should be higher than 44 as the highest.
Fire emblems recent iterations are $$$ def should be higher than 44 as the highest.
Punished_Snake
Member
Stupid list.