As I posted on Twitter I was looking for RPGs to play - FOR RESEARCH!



Haha, for real. Most of the times I don't even finish them, I play it mostly to see the gameplay mechanics. On PC I think I played almost ALL RPGs in past 10-15 years (as said played doesn't mean finished, rather the opposite, but I play at least 4-5h so I get an idea).

I'm mostly interested in turn based since I don't think I'll ever manage to do anything in real-time, however even if a RPG is real time still suggest it to me (maybe the mechanics are good and can be applied to a normal turn-based game).

Persona 5



Regalia: of Men and Monarchs



Cosmic Star Heroine



Grand Kingdom



Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter



What kind of mechanics are you researching? Is it just combat, do you have other things in mind like crafting or character growth/customization?

Mostly combat but also other things (not crafting since I don't think will do anything more complex than what I already have in Amber).

Like I think I said on twitter, and more. New and old freely mixed. Mostly turn based, many different styles.



Child of Light



Darkest Dungeon (you'll hate it, but if you're just idea mining)



Final Fantasy X(& X-2 Remaster)



Invisible Inc. (more of a strategy game)



Valkyria Chronicles (somewhat strategy)



The Last Remnant



Legrand Legacy (not out yet, I think)



Renowned Explorers (again, some strategy bias)



Return to Krondor



Torment: Tides of Numenera

Final Fantasy X(& X-2 Remaster)

Seconded. Quality stuff.



Also Undertale. (Which I recommend buying on Humble, since they do charity work. )

Haha I got the FFX, but honestly I didn't like it. The semi-realtime combat, it seemed like I had no control over what happened, or that the choices were all obvious (like of course you needed to pick option A). Maybe later it gets better, unfortunately I don't have time to play intro/tutorial missions that last 15h... I prefer that the gameplay is "final" already from the first missions (like for example Darkest Dungeon).

unfortunately I don't have time to play intro/tutorial missions that last 15h...

Don't ever play FFXIII.

Haha yes I won't

For example FFIV (the last one) was good, there was an intro OK, but then you could start fighting/experience gameplay. Plus there was Cindy! /drools

Also, if you want see something a little different, there's Children of Zodiarcs, which is a card game, collectible dice game and turn based RPG rolled into one.

Interesting, thanks

Haha I got the FFX, but honestly I didn't like it. The semi-realtime combat, it seemed like I had no control over what happened, or that the choices were all obvious (like of course you needed to pick option A). Maybe later it gets better, unfortunately I don't have time to play intro/tutorial missions that last 15h... I prefer that the gameplay is "final" already from the first missions (like for example Darkest Dungeon).

I think you might be speaking of FFXII, because FFX is one of the few games in the series that has strictly turn-based combat, with no ATB or anything time-sensitive.

Also, if you want see something a little different, there's Children of Zodiarcs, which is a card game, collectible dice game and turn based RPG rolled into one.

I was actually interested in Children of the Zodiarcs as well. However, I held back to avoid the temptation of buying/starting too many new games before I even finish the games I already own.

Ah might be that one. Last Spring after playing FFXV I bought a few older FF games but those titles are quite confusing with all those X II etc

I was actually interested in Children of the Zodiarcs as well. However, I held back to avoid the temptation of buying/starting too many new games before I even finish the games I already own.

Pffft, I only have 97 unfinished steam games installed, always room for a few more.

I HIGHLY recommend giving Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel a try. I should warn you that it's got a lot of text to it, but honestly that's one of the charming things about it. Beyond that, it does some original and cool stuff with battles.

I remembered now that I played the first one (I think? was Trails In The Sky). Some interesting mechanics but really too much texts - since I already read a lot of texts daily for my games is really painful for me haha

Plus in those games you can't skip texts as easily as in a ren'py game But maybe I'll check some youtube videos, after all I only want to see how the gameplay is.

Fair enough. I mean, I love text heavy games and there were still times in that one where I was just like: let me battle something already! The payoff was definitely worth it for me though. But yeah, Trails in the Sky takes place in the same universe and there are some characters that make cameo appearances but Trails of Cold Steel is technically the first game in another trilogy (assuming they don't go beyond the third game they have in the works ). A lot of the basic battle ideas from Trails in the Sky are still in play, but Trails of Cold Steel kind of refines them. Definitely check out some youtube videos on gameplay. I doubt you'll get the full scope of things from those videos since a lot of how a character plays depends on what Master Quartz you equip to them, but it should still be a worthwhile endeavor.

Yes the quartz system was present in this game as well and it's interesting. It's something I want to do in future RPGs too, not have 50 slots of equipment, but maybe have item slots and gems that change the behavior. What I did in QoT for example but even more that for example weapons slots change the skills/attack type of the weapon, and so on.



As for the battles, there are various directions I'd like to go, one of them is battle on tactical map, though doing the AI would be a bit nuts. Maybe just battle in an isometric view with some fixed positions but that still have impact (like Suikoden). Would be nice to view and more "active" than my usual battle screens. Of course you'd need to draw all isometric sprites and animations so that would limit the enemy types greatly (adding just 1 enemy in that way would be very expensive). But maybe if the game has a certain setting like zombie RPG...

Definitely give a try to Kamidori Alchemy Meister, gameplay vise that game is a masterpiece, it's everything a turn-based rpg should be. There should be a free trial if you just wish to give it a try to see mechanics or if you have trouble optioning a full game, true I am not sure if English patch works for trial version.



Additionally Empire of Angels IV, while story is a disaster among distress, gameplay is pretty good.



Another one Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart, while story isn't anywhere as good as in some other games in a series this one has a best gameplay.



If you want something unlike to experience a gameplay mechanics you probably didn't see before I would recommend a JRPG/VN hybrid Eien no Aselia -The Spirit of Eternity Sword- (I heard second one has improved gameplay even more but I haven't played a second one yet) or Yumina the Ethereal.

Thanks, I didn't know any of those games, will check them out



edit: the first one is VERY interesting indeed. Apart the crafting, that I'm not sure I'll do again (ahem ) the combat was very good. The 2d map plus the strategy in each engage (choosing the skills to use both to attack and defend) is a really nice idea.



The other games being 3D are out of my range but still gameplay was interesting. I also like the "visual skill representation", like a 2d map, so that to unlock some skills you need to follow a path in the visual representation.

Have you tried Overfall yet?





What gaming devices outside of the PC do you own?



If you happen to have a Nintendo 3DS, you may want to try Crimson Shroud. It more or less tries to mimic a tabletop RPG, and has a manual dice roll mechanics. The dice rolls affect not only success of abilities in combat, but even events outside of combat like trying to avoid a group of enemies.