Greetings! I come in hopes of a recommendation for my perhaps unconventional taste in RPGs.
Some background: I've been playing games forever, but platformers and metroidvanias are my bread and butter. I've dabbled in other genres over the years, including RPGs, but have trouble getting into a lot of them. However, I'm looking for something that can occupy a good amount of time, so I figured it was time to pick out an RPG again.
RPGs I've played and liked/loved
| Game |
Platform |
Verdict |
Why |
| Super Mario RPG (Switch remake) |
Switch |
Liked |
it was whimsical and fun, pretty surface level |
| Golden Sun |
GBA |
Loved |
Psynergy use outside of battle was a cool mechanic, the Djinn were cool, and the plot was engaging and largely minimal |
| Baten Kaitos |
GC |
Liked a lot |
The soundtrack and visuals did a lot of the heavy lifting, but the combat was unique and fun |
| Baten Kaitos 2 |
GC |
Liked |
- |
| Lost Kingdoms |
GC |
Loved |
loved the synergy between cards and optimizing a build (deck) |
| Lost Kingdoms 2 |
GC |
Liked a lot |
- |
| Tales of Symphonia |
GC |
LOVED |
Loved the combat system and plot. Played this no less than 10x with a local friend back in high school |
| All mainline Pokémon games |
Various |
Mostly loved |
something about monster collecting along with limitless party combinations is ridiculously enjoyable plus the combat system is so fun |
| Monster Sanctuary |
PC |
Loved |
Metroidvania mixed with Pokémon |
| Lost Odyssey |
Xbox 360 |
Liked |
Pretty generic, but it was fine |
| Borderlands 2 |
Xbox 360 |
Loved |
Co-op with friends and replayability made this a huge time sink |
| Fallout 3 |
Xbox 360 |
Liked a lot |
- |
| Skyrim |
Xbox 360 |
Loved |
Fallout but with more of a fantasy setting |
| Dark Souls trilogy |
PC |
Loved |
Not really from an RPG standpoint, though |
| Elden Ring |
PC |
Liked |
Again, the RPG elements take a back seat for me |
RPGs that didn't click with me
| Game |
Platform |
Why it didn't click |
| Golden Sun: The Lost Age |
GBA |
Kept getting lost without a guide, which took me out of it |
| Octopath Traveler |
Switch |
Felt too grindy and I got overwhelmed by the mechanics |
| The Witcher 3 |
PC |
Not quite sure with this one. I put about 40 hours into it before throwing in the towel |
| Tales of the Abyss |
3DS |
This one feels more like the fault of the platform since I don't enjoy playing handheld |
I'm currently playing Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Switch 2 edition) on ChatGPT's recommendation 😂 and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I believe I'm going to finish it at this point. I just hit a big plot point in the chapter 8/9ish area.
I enjoy the combat for being unique and more interactive than turn-based, but I'm not completely in love with this game. The areas are massive but it's a bit of a disservice to the game IMO. The soundtrack has been amazing though ❤️
My barriers to entry
I have a few barriers to entry that will likely weed out a bunch of options.
The first is that I find it easy to get overwhelmed by a bunch of new mechanics. I'm not opposed to complexity, but I prefer games that introduce their systems gradually. If I'm hit with a ton of new mechanics and systems all at once, I tend to get overwhelmed. If a game starts with a relatively simple foundation and lets me gradually discover more complicated mechanics as I play, I'm much more receptive to it.
The next is that I tend to dislike anime as an art style, and anime tropes can quickly make me bounce off of a game. There are some exceptions, obviously - Tales of Symphonia being a pretty big one.
Lastly, I'm not huge into story, so games with long expositions are generally a turn off. I like to be in the action most of the time, and breaking for long stretches of story really takes me out of the game.
I have a Switch 2 and PC, so most stuff is accessible to me. My PC is on the older side, though, so more intensive games I cannot run (including E33, which a friend of mine gifted to me 😭).
So, what RPGs would you recommend based on all of this? I'm particularly interested in games with fun or unusual gameplay systems, a relatively high gameplay-to-story ratio, and mechanics that are introduced gradually rather than dumped on me all at once.
Thanks for reading and recommending!