Are the "RPGs" on the TurboGrafx16/CD worth playing?

[PikachuWarrior]

Being a huge RPG fan, can't help but notice that Working Designs made a few, and other non-RPGs, like Parasol Stars, etc.

Are those any good? Feedback welcome!

[suikoman444]

I'm right there with you. I almost exclusively play RPGs, easily my favorite genre. I recently got a few for the Turbografx but have only played a couple.

The Ys games are pretty awesome. They've been ported many times, but the TGCD versions are very great.

Double Dungeons is a dungeon exploring game, I'd probably pass on this unless you're really into this kind of game.

I'll be trying out Dungeon Explorer 1 and 2, Cosmic Fantasy 2 and Dragon Slayer as soon as I get my TurboDuo back.

[KingofGames]

The Neutopia games are great, though they are more Zelda-clone than RPG's. The Ys series is very old school, but not without it's charm. The soundtrack for Ys I & II is pretty rockin', but the combat is bizarre. You walk into enemies to damage them. I'd say give them a try, see if they gel with your tastes.

[Samurai Ghost]

Lady Sword and Hi-Leg Fantasy all the way!!

[PikachuWarrior]

Are all the games mentioned playable in English?

[KingofGames]

The Neutopia series and Ys are available in English. Neutopia 2 is pricey, but the others are affordable.

[Sadler]

Oh man, yeah. The system may have a reputation for shooters, but there are plenty of awesome RPGs. On the US side you've got Ys I & II, Ys III, Exile, Exile: Wicked Phenomenon, Cosmic Fantasy 2, Dragon Slayer, and Dungeon Explorer 2 at a minimum. There are a few FPS RPGs (MM3, DD and OotG?) and depending on how you stretch the definition of RPG, there's also Shape Shifter, Dragon's Curse, Dynastic Hero, Dungeon Explorer. I don't consider the Neutopia's RPGs, but they are awesome games.

If you go to the PCE side, there's even more! LoX 1 and 2, Anearth Fantasy Stories, Gulliver Boy, hentai, Xak, etc...

[Arkhan Asylum]

Every RPG on the PCE is worth playing


Srsly.

If its an RPG, get it.  Play it.

Even if you can't read it.

[VestCunt]

Do you like JRPGs or western RPGs?  JRPG fans tend to be disappointed with the U.S. offerings - Cosmic Fantasy 2 and Dragon Slayer.  CF2 has decent acting and an involved story if you like that linear stuff, but the gameplay hasn't aged well.  I like DS a lot, but most seem to be unhappy with the tiny graphics and bad acting.

If you're into western RPGs, weird shit, and mixed genres, the U.S. CDs have a lot to love, if you have deep pockets: Beyond Shadowgate, Dungeon Explorer 2, Dynastic Hero, Dungeon Master, Might and Magic III, Loom, Exile, Exile: Wicked Phenomenon, Shape Shifter.

The Working Designs games are:
Parasol Stars (hucard, Bubble Bobble)
Cadash (hucard, arcade sidescroller with RPG elements)
Cosmic Fantasy 2 (CD, JRPG)
Exile (CD, action/RPG)
Vasteel (CD, war strategy)
Exile: Wicked Phenomenon (Super CD)

Are all the games mentioned playable in English?

All except Lady Sword and Hi-Leg Fantasy.

There are a few FPS RPGs (MM3, DD and OotG?) and depending on how you stretch the definition of RPG,

"Stretch the definition"! If Might and Magic isn't the epitome of an RPG, you're out of your mind.

[PikachuWarrior]

Every RPG on the PCE is worth playing


Srsly.

If its an RPG, get it.  Play it.

Even if you can't read it.

Uh, so what's the point in getting it if you can't understand it. I know there are probably translation guides/patches or something, but I don't do that route.

[spenoza]

Wow, some of you guys have pretty loose definitions of what constitutes an RPG.

[Sadler]

There are a few FPS RPGs (MM3, DD and OotG?) and depending on how you stretch the definition of RPG,

"Stretch the definition"! If Might and Magic isn't the epitome of an RPG, you're out of your mind.

I haven't played Might and Magic, but from what I've seen I agree with you. The "stretch the definition of RPG" was meant for the games that followed: Shape Shifter, Dragon's Curse, Dynastic Hero, Dungeon Explorer, and the Neutopia's.

[Samurai Ghost]

I can read Japanese well enough to get through games without a walk-through for the most part, but am I the only person who plays RPGs for the gameplay rather than the story? I'm a huge reader of fiction, and maybe because of this almost every RPG I've played has an incredible trite, cliched, and predictable story, especially those which came out through the 80's and early 90's. Sure, when I was a kid I enjoyed the stories of a few RPGs, but considering you spend 90% of your time fighting battles, traversing through dungeons, buying items, searching for clues, etc., to me that's where the meat of a game lies. The story is fairly unimportant to me, so usually I just skip through it unless it provides some information as to how to progress.

[SMF]

Yes..... I think that about sums it up lol.

[VestCunt]

Wow, some of you guys have pretty loose definitions of what constitutes an RPG.

Yeah. In my book Metal Gear is an RPG and Cosmic Fantasy is a button masher.

[Colossus1574]

Wow, some of you guys have pretty loose definitions of what constitutes an RPG.

Yeah. In my book Metal Gear is an RPG and Cosmic Fantasy is a button masher.

I kinda agree with the CF comment...if i remembered right, it made nearly no difference whether u attacked with spells or weapons. They all looked the same, same effect, and practically the same damage. pretty much turn the rapid up on the I button and the fights over....

[DragonmasterDan]

I kinda agree with the CF comment...if i remembered right, it made nearly no difference whether u attacked with spells or weapons. They all looked the same, same effect, and practically the same damage. pretty much turn the rapid up on the I button and the fights over....

There were some corners cut, especially with the battle system. But the game had great art, story and characters.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Every RPG on the PCE is worth playing


Srsly.

If its an RPG, get it.  Play it.

Even if you can't read it.

Uh, so what's the point in getting it if you can't understand it. I know there are probably translation guides/patches or something, but I don't do that route.

You don't have to beat it, but at least wiggle around in it for awhile and experience it.  Most of them are worth at least like 5 hours of your "I Dunno wtfs going on" time, since the cutscenes, music, graphics, and gameplay are all pretty awesome.


Most of the RPGs are like 5-10$ anyway, so you aren't out alot of money to at least half assedly experience some awesome shit.

[kamiboy]

I can read Japanese well enough to get through games without a walk-through for the most part, but am I the only person who plays RPGs for the gameplay rather than the story? I'm a huge reader of fiction, and maybe because of this almost every RPG I've played has an incredible trite, cliched, and predictable story, especially those which came out through the 80's and early 90's. Sure, when I was a kid I enjoyed the stories of a few RPGs, but considering you spend 90% of your time fighting battles, traversing through dungeons, buying items, searching for clues, etc., to me that's where the meat of a game lies. The story is fairly unimportant to me, so usually I just skip through it unless it provides some information as to how to progress.

Wow, finally someone who feels the same about RPGs. In the last decade I've only played three of the sort whose design spoke to me, Vagrant Story, Demon's and Dark Souls. Incredibly rare for me to find an RPG that grabs me like those three did, but when they do, I retreat from reality for a good two to three months.

The ones from the cartridge era are more tolerable though. Space concerns did wonders for cutting down needless dialog boxes. Unfortunately gameplay was still select Figh to win almost every encounter.

[Keith Courage]

There are many English RPGs that are worth playing.

Definitely the YS games and Neutopia series which have already been mentioned. I also enjoyed
Cosmic Fantasy 2, Dragon Slayer, Might and Magic III, Dungeons & Dragons: Order of the Griffon, Loom .

Here are games that I think would be classified as more of an action adventure game and not so much RPG but are also english.
Exile
Exile II
Cadash
Dungeon Explorer
Dungeon Explorer II
Dragons Curse
Final Lap Twin
Double Dungeons
Dungeon Master. Theron's quest
Shape Shifter



There are also 3 good CD fan made translations of RPGs to english that you can burn and play on the actual system
Ys IV
Xak III
Startling Odyssey 2

[Arkhan Asylum]

Don't leave out some PCE CD games that you can play without reading and still enjoy:

Xak 1/2/3
Fray
Efera and Jiliora
the LoH games

[Keith Courage]

Yeah as far as those go it's personal preference. I tried to play Xak 1&2 as well as Efera and Jiliora before and I just couldn't do it. I played each one I think for about 30 minutes a piece and kept getting so pissed and bored that I couldn't tell what the hell was going on. I know there are walkthroughs for the games and all you have to do when you get stuck somewhere is to talk to as many people as possible etc....

 I just don't have the patience for that or the will to want to play something where I don't know what people are saying.

[SamIAm]

I can read Japanese well enough to get through games without a walk-through for the most part, but am I the only person who plays RPGs for the gameplay rather than the story? I'm a huge reader of fiction, and maybe because of this almost every RPG I've played has an incredible trite, cliched, and predictable story, especially those which came out through the 80's and early 90's. Sure, when I was a kid I enjoyed the stories of a few RPGs, but considering you spend 90% of your time fighting battles, traversing through dungeons, buying items, searching for clues, etc., to me that's where the meat of a game lies. The story is fairly unimportant to me, so usually I just skip through it unless it provides some information as to how to progress.

I think we feel at least a little similarly about this. Having to fight through dungeons, against bosses, and a climactic final boss means no matter how many plot twists and funky characters you introduce, all RPGs have to be the same story at their core.

That said, the reason why I enjoy older RPG stories is because I think that in their simplicity, they do a good job serving to enhance to atmosphere of a game. When it comes to what's important to me in games, number one is gameplay, and number two is atmosphere.

PCE RPGs often have some pretty unique atmosphere going on. Whatever your language ability and preference in games, if you can appreciate this aspect of PCE RPGs, you'll enjoy them in general. As long as you can get along with the gameplay, that is.

On a final note, I'd say that the one RPG I've ever played that still strikes me as having truly elegant plot structure and storytelling by any standard is Chrono Trigger.

[BigusSchmuck]

For shame, no one mentioned the awesome Wizardry remakes which are essentially 90% English especially the overlooked Wizardry IV which (to my knowledge) has never been remade outside of Japan.

[VestCunt]

For shame, no one mentioned the awesome Wizardry remakes which are essentially 90% English especially the overlooked Wizardry IV which (to my knowledge) has never been remade outside of Japan.

I didn't mention is because he asked specifically about Turbografx-CD games and this is the U.S. forum.

Uh, so what's the point in getting it if you can't understand it. I know there are probably translation guides/patches or something, but I don't do that route.

I generally feel the same way. IMO, the only game you absolutely have to get even if you hate language barriers is Ys 4.  For action RPGs, you might to give some thought to the PCE versions of Dynastic Hero, Dungeon Explorer 2, and Exile 2 because they're only $12/each and the English versions are hundreds.

In the last decade I've only played three of the sort whose design spoke to me, Vagrant Story, Demon's and Dark Souls.

Wow. I don't even know what systems those games are on.

[PikachuWarrior]

Vagrant Story is on the original Playstation.

Demon's Souls and Dark Souls are both on PS3.

[DragonmasterDan]

you might to give some thought to the PCE versions of Dynastic Hero, Dungeon Explorer 2, and Exile 2 because they're only $12/each and the English versions are hundreds.

And the US Exile 2 is broken.

[Lilgrafx]

Not traditional RPG but Cadash, Dungeon Explorer, Neutopia are all reasonably cheap action RPG. There's also World Court Tennis and Final Lap Twin, a racing and tennis RPG. There not that great but it's cool to have something so unique.

[Keith Courage]

So the wizardry games are 90% english? I had no clue. Maybe I should pick them up.

[BigusSchmuck]

So the wizardry games are 90% english? I had no clue. Maybe I should pick them up.

Mostly yes, at least 1-4, haven't really played much of the 5th one but I finished the others with little issue.

[esteban]

To answer the original question: Yes. 

[spenoza]

I like a good story in an RPG, but a good story cannot make up for lackluster gameplay. The reason for this is that gameplay is, as has already been mentioned, most of what you are doing. As I get older, I find I have little patience for townspeople who have little nothings to say, leaving you hunting around town for the dialogue you need, fighting to separate it from all the "flavor" dialogue that's actually pretty bland, overly simplistic, and/or badly written. I love CF2 when I was a kid, but I would probably lose patience pretty quickly with it now because of the seriously hobbled combat system.

The best RPG combat system:

1. Is balanced in the challenge department. It is frustrating having to grind mooks for 2 hours because the next area is WAY harder than the earlier one. The flip side is wasting time fighting encounters that are just button mashing. If you don't have to engage your brain at all, why is the encounter even there? This balance can be pretty hard to achieve, and IMO separates the truly good RPG developers from the wannabes.

2. Is complex enough to be engaging, with clues about strategy. I dislike overly simplistic battles, because they often devolve into button mashing and disengagement. I also like to have an idea of what's going on. Final Fantasy 6 and 7 were particularly notorious about throwing weird enemies at you that had no place in the environment/ecosystem, with weaknesses that could not be guessed and/or made no sense without straight-out experimentation. I like strategic battles. That said, I don't want every RPG battle system to be like Tactics Ogre. I'm OK with the good guys on the bottom or the right and the baddies on the left or top of the screen.

3. Provides you the option to be turn-based instead of real time. I don't always like to be under a timer. Sometimes I have things to do, and the RPG is what I'm doing while I wait. I want to have to think, not to twitch. Nothing wrong with RTS games or real-time battle systems, but I like to have the option of turning it off so I can take my time and relax. For this same reason I don't like battle systems where to get the truly effective or powerful attacks you have to play rhythm games (hitting the right buttons in the right sequence with the right timing) in the middle of battle.

4. Distinguishes between character abilities. One thing I didn't like about Final Fantasy III/6 was that everyone could use any of the Materia spells. You could soup up every character with a list of spells the length of your arm. By the time you were done playing with Materia only the base character abilities were different. Everyone could heal, for example. Sure, some characters were a bit better at it, but at the higher levels it didn't matter, really. Everyone could cure status effects, too. You didn't have to have a dedicated healer at all. FF III/6 was tolerable, but other games in the FF series were worse, as were other games in other series. Grandia got this right, IMO. You could equip spell eggs on any character, but the spells they got from the egg were different because the characters were different. I don't want characters who can do everything. I want to have to strategize.

5. Is quick and user-accessible. Because balancing challenge is so difficult (see 1) and people may breeze through some areas or grind in others, you cannot always account for an absolute level of challenge (and to do so with auto-leveling enemies has its own share of problems). For this reason, combat needs to be fast. If text is super slow or complex animations are unskippable (I'm looking at you, FFVII summons) you can really got bogged down by easy encounters, in part because they are no challenge and not much fun but they take forever to get through. On the other side of this, if the menu and interaction systems are overly complex or badly designed, you can end up making silly mistakes in an important or difficult battle, or lose an important item in your inventory because you have to spend so long digging around for it. A complex interface can also slow down easy battles.

Yup, I'm pretty demanding, but any company that can hit all of those square on the head deserves my money, and lots of it.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Did anyone mention M&M 1 and the 3 wizardry games (that actually amount to 5 wizardry games)?

Those are great, and they can be played with no moon rune knowledge whatsoever, basically.

[PikachuWarrior]

Looked up Cosmic Fantasy 2. Looks cool. Was there ever a Cosmic Fantasy 1? Just wondering why it seemingly skips to 2 as far as English releases go. Anyway, too bad Gulliver Boy wasn't localised. Looks nice!

[TR0N]

Looked up Cosmic Fantasy 2. Looks cool. Was there ever a Cosmic Fantasy 1? Just wondering why it seemingly skips to 2 as far as English releases go. Anyway, too bad Gulliver Boy wasn't localised. Looks nice!

Yes there is a CF1 but never released in the u.s the same for CF3&4.

[esteban]

Looked up Cosmic Fantasy 2. Looks cool. Was there ever a Cosmic Fantasy 1? Just wondering why it seemingly skips to 2 as far as English releases go. Anyway, too bad Gulliver Boy wasn't localised. Looks nice!

There is a thread (recently active) that discussed Gulliver Boy (it is one of the few games that utilized "HuVideo", a compressed video format that looked nice considering the PCE hardware).

As for Cosmic Fantasy 2: the story in this game is what makes it endearing.  A lot of folks will tell you that the encounter rate is very high and off-putting to folks who are used to contemporary RPG's. I think Working Designs was interested in CF2 because Vic knew that the characters/story/cinemas would win over english-speaking nerds.

PICO!

[PikachuWarrior]

Can you post the link to the thread here?

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Can you post the link to the thread here?

I think this thread is the one to which The Cook was referring (it's a little way in).

[DragonmasterDan]

As for Cosmic Fantasy 2: the story in this game is what makes it endearing.  A lot of folks will tell you that the encounter rate is very high and off-putting to folks who are used to contemporary RPG's. I think Working Designs was interested in CF2 because Vic knew that the characters/story/cinemas would win over english-speaking nerds.

PICO!

Story and overall presentation, great art, character designs, nice looking cut scenes and it has a very well written English script and scenario. Of the two classic style RPGs on the US Turbo CD, I've always felt Dragon Slayer is a better game mechanically but Cosmic Fantasy 2 is a more enjoyable experience due to the better art, story, characters, dub, dialogue and scenerios.

[jlued686]

CF2 was the first RPG I ever played through 'til the end, and I still love it. The encounter rate is a bit off-putting, but I still pull it out and play bits from time-to-time. I would agree with DragonmasterDan that Dragon Slayer is probably the better game, gameplay-wise, but CF2 has better presentation.

[geise]

MAROOGA NUTS!

Even with not knowing that much japanese I still love playing the Far east of eden games.  Once you get used to the menu system I find the games very enjoyable.  Don't forget the Legend of Xanadu games.  I would still like others have said check out CF2 and Dragon Slayer.  I love them, and the bad voice acting makes it what it is.  An early released japanese rpg in the states.

[Duo_R]

I breifly tried CF2, kinda got bored with it at first. Tried it again about a year ago and blitzed through the game. It's really old school, and extremely dated (even for the 16 bit era) but somehow it had its charm. The ending had me a little confused, but oh well.

[PikachuWarrior]

Just bought these RPGs:

Gulliver Boy (even though it's in Japanese, the style looks nice)
Exile
Ys Book 1 and 2
Cosmic Fantasy 2

[geise]

Congrats man!  You will be very happy with those.  Ys Book I&II is by far my favorite game on the Turbo.  Normally if it was shooters it would be Spriggan and Gate of Thunder, but Ys Book I&II is just superb.  Now it's more the lines of action/rpg, and so is Exile.  They aren't turn based like CF2, or other traditional JRPG's.  I hope you enjoy Ys as much as I do.  Haha!  Even if you are playing it 22 years after it's US release I hope it still makes the impact on you tha it did with me.

[JapanTokei]

The final lap twin bundled rpg is great fun for sure and all in english if u buy the tg version.

And to another dude who said it..  Chrono trigger on the SNes is prob the most engulfing atmospherical experience ive ever been thru.  Unforgettable. 
2nd to that would be us version of Ys 1&2.  Hall of fame video game stuff there

Not traditional RPG but Cadash, Dungeon Explorer, Neutopia are all reasonably cheap action RPG. There's also World Court Tennis and Final Lap Twin, a racing and tennis RPG. There not that great but it's cool to have something so unique.

[VestCunt]

Exile is a lot of fun to blast through in a few days. It has some of my favorite music.

I hate Chrono Trigger.

[CrackTiger]

Exile is a lot of fun to blast through in a few days. It has some of my favorite music.

I hate Chrono Trigger.

I like Chrono Trigger, I just think that it isn't nearly as good as way too many other 16-bit RPGs.

[PikachuWarrior]

So the seller I bought Gulliver Boy canceled the transaction even though they made a shipping label. Bizarre! The notes said "seller did not want item" LOL. If I didn't want it, I wouldn't have paid for it. Oh well. I guess I'll have to buy it some other time.

[DragonmasterDan]

I like Chrono Trigger, I just think that it isn't nearly as good as way too many other 16-bit RPGs.

I like Chrono Trigger as well, to me it's more of a "what a fun scenario" game, rather than a game that focuses on an engaging central story. If you play J-RPGs for an exciting plot, then it's definitely not going to be your type of game.

[CrackTiger]

I like Chrono Trigger, I just think that it isn't nearly as good as way too many other 16-bit RPGs.

I like Chrono Trigger as well, to me it's more of a "what a fun scenario" game, rather than a game that focuses on an engaging central story. If you play J-RPGs for an exciting plot, then it's definitely not going to be your type of game.

I also like Chrono Trigger for being what it is. What I don't like most is the complete lack of difficulty which, like FFVII, leads to minimal use of skills and the showcased "system". The final boss is one of my least favorite from RPGs I've played. It's still cool for what it is, but every aspect of it (especially the plot) is held above all other RPGs by trendy game fans.