Post by benwayshouse on Jan 23, 2005 20:32:03 GMT -5
I feel like having a discussion on GameCube's best Role Playing Games, since we seem to get a nice handful; we have Tales, Skies, Baten Kaitos, Paper Mario, and even a 3D Pokemon. So, hows about we talk about them? Yeah, doesn't that sound fun (since we seem to have a knack for them)? I... hope... so. 
Anyway, the RPGs I have are:
Baten Kaitos
Evolution Worlds
Pokemon Colloseum
Skies of Arcadia Legends
And, here's how I'd rank them...
1) Skies of Arcadia Legends: Well, this decision somewhat includes personal matters (since most people SHOULD know that I am a self-proclaimed SEGA fanboy), but then again I'm also partly impartial. If you ask me, this is a little more epic than any GCN RPG I have played. The lands you visit are all different from each other, ranging from forest indians to desert dwellers, and the characters always dig something new up. Graphics are sub-par, but combat is fun to watch and to some extent, updating your character's moveset is upgradable at your own pace, and controlling the boat is easy to control and it's fun to look around your surroundings. Plus, unlike the RPGs I've played, these characters have a better personality than other games like Baten Kaitos. And what helps make it epic are the cinematics; if Baten Kaitos actually had cinematics like these, I might have liked it better, but it doesn't, so SoAL is better. While there are no voices, the cutscenes still seem to win me over. It makes you feel like your there, they're done so well. Plus, Ship Combat; that was a new idea, and it's fun to do whenever you meet up with a challenger and decide to fight. Of course, maybe some of my bias is coming over my decision, but my non-biased side also thinks of this as the better game for RPG Gamers for the GCN.
2) Baten Kaitos: Yeah, I said SoAL was better than this, but that does not mean I hate the game; far from it, Two Discs for a GCN RPG is actually pretty good (Though if Skies had a visual revamp and added FMV quality scenes, it probably would've been 2 discs as well.), since they are supposed to be deep. One of the things I really got annoyed by the game was mainly the difficulty; every boss besides the Giacomo, Folon and Ayme boss so far, I've beaten on my first try (and no, I never power level in a game, that's stupid and ruins the challenge!), but G, F & A finally tell me the end bosses will be no cake walk. Visuals are crisp and achieve one of Skies of Arcadia Legends' flaws. Sound as well, while not entirely great, it's at least there, unlike Skies. And the GamePlay helps here; people say it's the closest thing to a Chrono Cross sequel people will get, and while I never ever played CC, I think it'll be fun, considering Kaitos' battle system is incredibly easy to master with the cards. All of your abilities are within those cards, no MP or any of that. Simply in the cards, and thankfully that system was done well. Only flaw is lack of cinematics; it's always in an angle where you never see the character's face, and they never move around! So yeah, not the best ever, but hey, no game's perfect!
3) Pokemon Colloseum: Really, I didn't like it much, possibly because of the fact that it's simply a 3D GameBoy game, in my eyes; there is little sound at ALL, the music is good, but there are no voices besides the Pokemon battlecries. I still didn't think that was such a good thing, mainly because they were GBA bits. And what I didn't like much was the complete lack of catchable Pokemon in Colloseum; from what I've heard, there are 48 catchable Pokemon, and that adds up to little replay value, outside of the multiplayer. Of course, the same Pokemon formula is here, which I enjoy, and I'll give it that. Plus it adds to the Pokemon collection in Ruby and Sapphire, which is cool. What would have rocked is if all 389 (Is that correct?) Pokemon were in Colloseum. Then I'd like it a little better. But overall, if a sequel is ever made, I hope it's better than the first in several aspects, if they aren't, then I'm jumping off the bandwagon. Colloseum was bad enough to make sure I won't buy the next one if it ever does get released.
4) Evolution: Well, I don't like either this or Colloseum too much, but this was a tad worse, though this was basically a Dreamcast port, so I don't expect much. Story is garbage, the sound is excellent, graphics are dull and mediocre, and combat is a tiny notch below decent. Characters are pretty cool though, I'll give UbiSoft that much.
So yeah, I don't have many RPGs for the GCN, but this genre has a very limited amount of titles about now. Heh, your thoughts? Forgive the bias in my Skies view. It's hard not to when you're a SEGA fanboy,
Anyway, the RPGs I have are:Baten Kaitos
Evolution Worlds
Pokemon Colloseum
Skies of Arcadia Legends
And, here's how I'd rank them...
1) Skies of Arcadia Legends: Well, this decision somewhat includes personal matters (since most people SHOULD know that I am a self-proclaimed SEGA fanboy), but then again I'm also partly impartial. If you ask me, this is a little more epic than any GCN RPG I have played. The lands you visit are all different from each other, ranging from forest indians to desert dwellers, and the characters always dig something new up. Graphics are sub-par, but combat is fun to watch and to some extent, updating your character's moveset is upgradable at your own pace, and controlling the boat is easy to control and it's fun to look around your surroundings. Plus, unlike the RPGs I've played, these characters have a better personality than other games like Baten Kaitos. And what helps make it epic are the cinematics; if Baten Kaitos actually had cinematics like these, I might have liked it better, but it doesn't, so SoAL is better. While there are no voices, the cutscenes still seem to win me over. It makes you feel like your there, they're done so well. Plus, Ship Combat; that was a new idea, and it's fun to do whenever you meet up with a challenger and decide to fight. Of course, maybe some of my bias is coming over my decision, but my non-biased side also thinks of this as the better game for RPG Gamers for the GCN.
2) Baten Kaitos: Yeah, I said SoAL was better than this, but that does not mean I hate the game; far from it, Two Discs for a GCN RPG is actually pretty good (Though if Skies had a visual revamp and added FMV quality scenes, it probably would've been 2 discs as well.), since they are supposed to be deep. One of the things I really got annoyed by the game was mainly the difficulty; every boss besides the Giacomo, Folon and Ayme boss so far, I've beaten on my first try (and no, I never power level in a game, that's stupid and ruins the challenge!), but G, F & A finally tell me the end bosses will be no cake walk. Visuals are crisp and achieve one of Skies of Arcadia Legends' flaws. Sound as well, while not entirely great, it's at least there, unlike Skies. And the GamePlay helps here; people say it's the closest thing to a Chrono Cross sequel people will get, and while I never ever played CC, I think it'll be fun, considering Kaitos' battle system is incredibly easy to master with the cards. All of your abilities are within those cards, no MP or any of that. Simply in the cards, and thankfully that system was done well. Only flaw is lack of cinematics; it's always in an angle where you never see the character's face, and they never move around! So yeah, not the best ever, but hey, no game's perfect!
3) Pokemon Colloseum: Really, I didn't like it much, possibly because of the fact that it's simply a 3D GameBoy game, in my eyes; there is little sound at ALL, the music is good, but there are no voices besides the Pokemon battlecries. I still didn't think that was such a good thing, mainly because they were GBA bits. And what I didn't like much was the complete lack of catchable Pokemon in Colloseum; from what I've heard, there are 48 catchable Pokemon, and that adds up to little replay value, outside of the multiplayer. Of course, the same Pokemon formula is here, which I enjoy, and I'll give it that. Plus it adds to the Pokemon collection in Ruby and Sapphire, which is cool. What would have rocked is if all 389 (Is that correct?) Pokemon were in Colloseum. Then I'd like it a little better. But overall, if a sequel is ever made, I hope it's better than the first in several aspects, if they aren't, then I'm jumping off the bandwagon. Colloseum was bad enough to make sure I won't buy the next one if it ever does get released.
4) Evolution: Well, I don't like either this or Colloseum too much, but this was a tad worse, though this was basically a Dreamcast port, so I don't expect much. Story is garbage, the sound is excellent, graphics are dull and mediocre, and combat is a tiny notch below decent. Characters are pretty cool though, I'll give UbiSoft that much.
So yeah, I don't have many RPGs for the GCN, but this genre has a very limited amount of titles about now. Heh, your thoughts? Forgive the bias in my Skies view. It's hard not to when you're a SEGA fanboy,
