I did one of these "what can I expect" threads for dragon age origins and the feedback was awesome. For almost four weeks I was playing that game and the thread eventually reached its post limit but right around the time I finished. The thread was awesome and full of great feedback so I'm hoping for the same here.

I made a thread yesterday asking for some ps2 rpg recommendations and I received some great responses. I ended up choosing Rogue Galaxy after narrowing it down to about four games. I'm "going In blind" so to speak because I really don't know much at all about the game. I read the review at IGN and Gamespot earlier today and both seem to adore the game.

So here we go! Rogue Galaxy. What can I expect?

Uninteresting characters, uninteresting story, boring dungeons and a weak soundtrack. But it got very impressive graphics for being on the PS2. Yeah, I'm not fond of it

Kinda dull and boring story, shallow characters, and repetitive long dungeons. I got to the last boss, which is a very very annoying battle, died, and just quit. I did not even care to see the ending.

I "beat" it two years ago and I do not even remember the character names or much of the story. That is odd for me because jrpgs are my favorite.


I played a lot worse though. But this game can get annoying. One of the more annoying things are how they make a long long long off path that you think will lead to some huge treasure... It turns out to be a common item like a potion... And they do that a lot! Another thing I hate is when I am forced to play with certain characters. And this game also does that a lot.

The game might seem worse for me though because I purchased rogue galaxy and dragonquest 8 at the same time and played DQ first, and that game was just amazing. So I might of been expecting too much out of it. If you got the game for 20 bucks or under, i'd say it is worth it. One thing I kinda like is that your party members will comment if you play a long time in a single session. I found that pretty amusing.

I bet you're steaming now after reading the above two posts.

Never heard of this game.

Honestly I really liked the game, despite what those above stated. I never really felt the characters were weak, though they did run the line of the archetypes you generally find in these type of games. The game uses a real time combat system that feels a lot like Dark Cloud 2's, not surprising seeing as how it was made by the same developer, Level 5. It is a pretty long game, the writing was entertaining, and overall I feel it is one of the better jrpg'sto be found on the ps2, which is saying a lot. Though yes, the levels(dungeons) can get repetetive, they are also varied from location to location, so your never spending too much time in the same one. And yes, it is gorgeous as far as ps2 games go, though that could be said for all of thier titles.

Thanks for the replies. I haven't bought it yet, it's only ten bucks for a used copy at my local gamestop but I was going to. It came down to Rogue Galaxy, Xenogears, Suikoden V, and Dark Cloud 2.

I'm just looking for a game that is going to give me longevity and a good amount of side quests and minigames in addition to a lengthy main story. I've read that Rogue Galaxy provides all of those things. My favorite and most fond games on the ps2, actually on any system really, is final fantasy x and xii and dragon quest viii. Loved the hundreds of hours I've sunk into those and i'm hoping to do the same with Rogue Galaxy.

Darkcloud 2 or Rogue Galaxy definitely, though honestly I would give DarkCloud 2 a chance. They are both very similar games, but DarkCloud 2's world is just filled with atmoshphere and charm. My personal favorite jrpg outside of the latest persona titles. Though the choice is your, you can't go wrong either way.

This

I just found it to be a boring hack and slash game

Found it a little underwhelming and the item creation too complex with the having to reconfigure every time you want to make something else.

Maybe I'll just get both then. I really like the look of the graphics in rogue galaxy from what I've seen. Dark cloud 2 looks great as well from the youtube video I saw but I heard that the game is just dungeons filled keys you have to find to unlock the next level. Is that true? I'm also weary about the town building. Is it a major part of the game and how fleshed out is it? Also one last question...how comparable are the two games in terms of main story length and overall length?

Was never a big fan of Level-5 to begin with. Their games are okay, but I can never get into them.

Both games are pretty long, forget just how long but they definitely both exceed the 40+ mark. As for darkcloud 2, yes the dungeon layouts were simply isolated levels in which you needed to find a specific key or item to use to get to the next level, though I always felt that the city and town exploration was the real focus of the game. As for the town creation, it is a lot of fun. You find special ores while exploring the many dungeons of the game, with them you are allowed different pieces of your town such as windmills, houses, bridges,etc. While you aren't constantly needed to update your town, it does tie into the story itself so it is required, but like I said it is a fun feature.

Has anyone played Draken: The Ancient's Gates? I've been reading reviews for ps1/2 era rpg's the past couple days and it got a pretty favorable review. And it has dragons! If it really is good maybe I will play that instead in preparation for Skyrim.

I've played the PC prequel. It's more of a linear action game than a huge expansive RPG.

I liked it. It's kind of a jack-of-all-trades in JRPG terms. Good, but not great characters, good, but not great story, and so on for really any other element. Has some nice gimmicks too - a freeze gun and platform creating gun, but there are far too few applications for those.

Suikoden V have a long main quest, about 60 hours or so. Besides recruiting all possible characters in the game, there aren't really that many side quests, though. Both Steambot Chronicles and the Yakuza games have a lot of side quests, but neither are really any JRPG.


Same here, the Level-5 game I enjoyed the most is easily Dragon Quest 8, and that's a game they didn't do the overall design or soundtrack on. The same with the upcoming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ysGqsLf2oA which I look forward to a great deal.

Maybe I'm weird and/or old-school and/or poor, but I just can't understand how you can buy a game without knowing what you can expect from it. Maybe it's just me though, but I like knowing what I'm buying. Or, like I said, perhaps I'm just poor and you just have enough money to throw away. :shrug:

A lot of these ps2 era rpg's can be found for as little as ten bucks. I wouldn't call that "throwing away" money on a game that can last over fifty hours. I'm a huge jrpg fan so I know what to expect somewhat. I like going into these games without knowing too much just the basics like how long the game is, how good the story is, how many sidequests and things like that. Always makes for a more memorable experience I think.

You should try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RdbZeOxL2o and the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6IOl4GSKVM games next...

The persona titles are great, though the later titles are what really got me hooked.

I'll throw my hat into the "Rogue Galaxy is a good game" ring.

I really enjoyed it. Yeah, the story isn't too complicated, it's a little cliched, but I really enjoyed the battle system, there are PLENTY of side quests. A little favourite of mine from the PS2 days, been meaning to play it again actually...

I say go for it