Pre 2005 rpgs

Guccibeltx

Does anyone have any recommendations? Been trying to find something decent so I can get that early 2000s vibe again, most ones these days just don't grab my interest for some reason

gemisthon

Maybe more '90s than early 2000s, but Grandia is pretty classic.

Sandro

If you haven't played them yet, I'd give the Shadow Hearts games a go. Lots of over the top stuff that loops around to being awesome, with some genuinely good story beats and villain motivations. Koudelka is in that universe too, but its a different beast compared to them, so caution.

Algol

I have two recommendations:

Dragon Warrior Monsters 1 or 2. These are monster collecting games, pretty obviously Pokemon clones, but like the best derivative games they surpass their original. The monster system is much deeper because the one of the central pillars is breeding your monsters. There are tons of combinations and it is so much fun to try out things, either through pure trial and error or starting from the very beginning with a GameFaqs breeding list where you set out a chain of combinations to get progressively more devastating beasts with each new world. Also, most of the adventuring is done in randomly generated dungeons which have a beautiful empty feel. If you've ever read Susanna Clark's novel Piranesi then it feels like you've stumbled into a pastoral version of that otherworld, except you've got a team of monsters to kick ass as you wander.
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. This is a delightful blend of anime autism and early aughts edgy lolsorandum in game form. It will repeatedly evoke sensible chuckles, especially if you're a weeb. The game allows for either a casual and comfy style, with some difficulty in the main quest but nothing brutal, or you can step on the grind gas pedal and descend through 100 dungeon floors in your weapons to power them up and your guys, get new better classes for your normal goons (and then with certain leveled combinations you unlock different types entirely), and finally you can do some funky thing where you revert your guys to level one but they retain a big chunk of their stats so you and make complete gods by grinding and grinding and grinding to your sick heart's content. It's bonkers and it can be lots of fun. I haven't played any of the sequels or tangentially related games so I can't comment on those.

Fantasy

Shining Soul 1+2 for the Gameboy Advance
Boktai 1+2 also for the Gameboy Advance
Tales of Symphona for the Gamecube
Tales of the Abyss for the Playstation 2
Skies of Arcadia for the Gamecube
Baten Kaitos for the Gamecube
Jade Empire for the Xbox or PC
Sudeki for the Xbox or PC

I remember liking all of these when I initially played them way back.

Love

I don't play many games from the early 00s but here are some 90s recommendations.

The early SMT and Persona games are some of my favorites from the 90s, SMT 1, 2, and If are all on SFC/SNES via translation hack and persona 1, IS, and EP are on the PSP though one needs a translation patch. the persona games are also on the PlayStation but are not faithful translations, even race swapping characters.

If you aren't looking for JRPGs then the original fallout duology and Deus Ex are really good picks. Both are available on steam.

yukarihinata

For me it's the first six Final Fantasy games. I think all of the best versions of those games came out before 2005, but if not oh well...

I just love how the concepts in Final Fantasy I seem to grow and evolve with each game. I'd say IV is where the serious found its truest identity. V and VI are up for debates as being the ibest. Some do not like the light hearted tone of Final Fantasy V. I think it has its own charm. Final Fantasy VI is closer to the PS1 games that would come after it, but I still tear up when I hear the main theme playing in the epilogue.

I also love the early PS2 RPGs. I will never not reccomend Dark Cloud 1 and 2. Such fun games.

d100

yukarihinata I remember, the ice volcano in 7

yukarihinata

d100 7 through 10 are classics in their own right. I just happen to like the older games.

d100

yukarihinata do you remember the ice volcano? I don't know why, I only played 7, it was the first big one on the playstation. It's amazing that they had ones before

sungen

Wanna gonna say Persona and SMT but Love already covered them, so consider this a VERY strong recommendation for the two, especially SMT. Especially especially SMT 3 at 2003 for the PS2. Very fun.

LunaticHigh

Dark cloud 1 and 2/rogue galaxy on ps2 are also very good. Albert odyssey, morrowind/daggerfall, ff6/7/8, metal max returns, Lagrange point, xenogears, smrpg, etc..,, there’s so soooo many rpgs pre 2005 and there’s a lot of good ones. These are just a few to dip your toes into to see what floats your bubble!

mallorystarck

VTMB of course

Fantasy

mallorystarck
I've always seen people rec this one but never even looked into why. What makes it so good?

mallorystarck

Fantasy
The atmosphere is super good. The different clans are interesting and unique. The dialogue and story are very well written and engaging. The voice acting is some of the absolute best in any video game. The music is amazing. The characters are memorable and fun. The game is super funny when it wants to be. Everyone loves Nosferatu and Malkavian because of the replay value they add, but not recommended for a first playthrough. If you decide to pick it up, which you should, make sure you get the unofficial patch, there are steam guides on how to install it and I'm pretty sure it comes prebundled with the patch if you buy from GOG. Also make sure to train your combat skills pretty high as there is a lot of unavoidable combat, especially towards the end.

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