DS RPG Gems

[Spectro]

If I go to GameStop, I can point my finger at the DS wall with my eyes closed and find an RPG. There are so many. What are the best ones that can be considered gems? Don't tell me about Pokemon or Mario & Luigi. :P

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

The Dark Spire & Etrian Odysee (II) if you're into old-schoolish types.

Chrono Trigger & Dragon Quest 5 if you ain't got them yet.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Advance Wars are more like strategy games, but they've got a lot of depth and online multiplayer.

Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV are obvious Square Enix gems. (Final Fantasy III is good, but it's a massive grind.)

The Dark Spire is a retro-style dungeon-crawler with stylized graphics and old-school difficulty.

Dragon Quest IV and V are both really good remakes of Enix classics. (VI and IX are also both coming soon to DS.)

I haven't personally played Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, but they get a lot of love and attention from fans of the series. They're meant to be quite polished. I've heard the same kind of praise about The World Ends with You, which is apparently am excellent original action-RPG from Square Enix that doesn't simply lean on FF conventions.

Suikoden Tierkreis is a good RPG, but it's not as good as the classic Suikoden games. Gets the job done, though.

[Spectro]

The only one that I haven't heard about that you guys have mentioned so far is The Dark Spire. I've been looking into Dragon Quest, but they're a little more obvious like Final Fantasy. I'm mostly looking for original titles, rather than sequel #5 of a certain series. I've heard good things about Etrian Oddysey. I'll probably have to add that to the wishlist.

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

Originally Posted by Spectro

The only one that I haven't heard about that you guys have mentioned so far is The Dark Spire. I've been looking into Dragon Quest, but they're a little more obvious like Final Fantasy. I'm mostly looking for original titles, rather than sequel #5 of a certain series. I've heard good things about Etrian Oddysey. I'll probably have to add that to the wishlist.

Etrian Odysee is a good game, but the sequel is superior to the original.
If you're interested in EO like games, take Dark Spire. It's one of the best DS-RPG's imo.

[Spectro]

A game that I'm extremely interested in is that Studio Ghibli RPG. I looove Studio Ghibli.

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

Originally Posted by Spectro

A game that I'm extremely interested in is that Studio Ghibli RPG. I looove Studio Ghibli.

It will still take a loooooong time till this game might reach western coasts.

[Spectro]

Originally Posted by Kiwi the Tortoise

It will still take a loooooong time till this game might reach western coasts.

Yeah, well I'll be waiting.

All Google searches turn up the same things for DS RPGs. Pokemon, Mario & Luigi, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, The World Ends With You, Chrono Trigger. I have seen so many more that I've never heard of, but can never find the names of them online. I feel like I'm going to have to pick one up at the store and play it. I really don't like taking shots in the dark with video games, though.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Spectro

I have seen so many more that I've never heard of, but can never find the names of them online.

Those other ones don't get mentioned because they suck.

Well, there are of course the big-box ones that are all pretty decent (Luminous Arc, Legacy of Ys, Super Robo Taisen), a host of roguelikes (Izuna 2, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren), really generic stuff that looks like it could potentially be good but isn't (Sands of Destruction, Glory of Heracles, Nostalgia, Summon Night).

[Betagam7]

I can only comment on what I own but I found Final Fantasy 3 to be quite boring. Contact also was just plain boring.

Most people will say it isn't an RPG but so far my favorite DS game that could loosely fit into the category is Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.

In fact it might be my fave DS game, full stop.

I am interested in The World Ends with You especially as I recently visited Shibuya and had my photo taken with the real Hachiko statue.

[Kreegs]

Im not a huge RPG person (havent played any except the mario one's and pokemon. So I am very interested in this list as well!

[Refa]

Obviously the Castlevania games (Dawn Of Sorrow, Portrait Of Ruin, Order Of Ecclesia). While some may consider them not RPGs, they have enough RPG like stuff to make them an RPG in my books. Anyways, regardless of the semantic nonsense, they're all pretty good games, with Dawn Of Sorrow being the best one for me.

Dunno if Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon was mentioned, but it's a pretty good game. Also much more easier for SRPG newbies to get into, as it's not too complex (it is a remake of the first SRPG ever...or at least the first Japanese one).

Atlus publishes a lot of DS RPGs. One in particular that a lot of people seem to like is Knights In The Nightmare. Of course, it's out of print and expensive, so you might not want to take a chance.

Betagam- You should try TWEWY. It's awesome. Just don't let the learning curve of the combat system stop you from playing it. And contrary to what some people say, it's not emo. Kinda the opposite, really.

[Spectro]

Are you sure of the really generic stuff? Sands of Destruction and Summon Night got decent reviews in their own right.

I've wanted to get Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon since it was released.

[Red]

The World Ends With You is probably the best DS RPG you can find. Not going to go in depth right now, but trust me when I say it's a great game.

Nostalgia is also pretty good, but the combat system is extremely basic and overall, I found it to get a bit boring at points. Still, solid RPG.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Spectro

Are you sure of the really generic stuff? Sands of Destruction and Summon Night got decent reviews in their own right.

I found them to be quite uninspired and generic. That's not to say they're bad per se, since a lot of old tested and true RPG conventions have become overused for a reason... The gameplay in SoD is decent enough, but the story is horrendous.

[Spectro]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

I found them to be quite uninspired and generic. That's not to say they're bad per se, since a lot of old tested and true RPG conventions have become overused for a reason... The gameplay in SoD is decent enough, but the story is horrendous.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

The game takes place in a fictional world ruled by anthropomorphic beings known as Ferals. Humans live as slaves, and a group dubbed the "World Annihilation Front" intends to destroy the world in rebellion. They are opposed by the Feral's "World Salvation Committee".

Doesn't sound bad. I have a high threshold for this type of thing. I'm one of the few people that loved Final Fantasy X-2. heh

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Yeah, that's just one Yogurt's opinion (which happens to be shared by many non-Yogurt). As long as you have a good tolerance for lots of unskippable dialogue and characters whose motivations make no sense, you'll probably like it. I didn't even mind it, really, I'm just pointing out its objective flaws just in case.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by Spectro

Doesn't sound bad. I have a high threshold for this type of thing. I'm one of the few people that loved Final Fantasy X-2. heh

Well, FFX-2 had one of the best RPG battle systems ever (it has the job system).

Retro Game Challenge, in addition to having several other great retro classics, it also has a game based heavily on Dragon Quest II (AKA Guardia Quest). I hear it's good.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Refa

Well, FFX-2 had one of the best RPG battle systems ever (it has the job system).

Retro Game Challenge, in addition to having several other great retro classics, it also has a game based heavily on Dragon Quest II (AKA Guardia Quest). I hear it's good.

Guadia Quest.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Guadia Quest.

Er, yeah, sorry about that.

Some upcoming DS RPGs that noone knows about are the Lufia action RPG remake, Final Fantasy Legends II (SaGa II) remake, and Warriors Of Light. I don't even know if these games are coming to the US.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Refa

Some upcoming DS RPGs that noone knows about are the Lufia action RPG remake...

Lufia II action RPG remake.

Originally Posted by Refa

Final Fantasy Legends II (SaGa II) remake...

Final Fantasy Legend II (SaGa II) remake.

Originally Posted by Refa

I don't even know if these games are coming to the US.

I don't know either, but I sure as hell hope so! Lufia II looks way worse than the original, but that SaGa remake looks fantastic!

[Refa]

The Lufia II remake was made by the original developers, so I sure hope it turns out well. But yeah, I really want that SaGa 2 remake too.

[LinkFanatic]

Is TWEWY a turn-based RPG? Those are the only ones I like to play, so the best of those would be appreciated as well

[enigmaopoeia]

Everyone has pretty much covered every DS RPG, here are some that weren't mentioned yet:

Deep Labyrinth. If you liked Etrian Odyssey and The Dark Spire and wanted a game along the same lines of a first person dungeon crawler. Then please stay the heck away from this game, it's a port of a mobile cell game and it's pretty bad. I had to stop playing it because it was so boring.

FROM THE ABYSS. An Action RPG in the same veins as The World Ends With You and Seiken Densetsu. You get to choose your own avatar and fight through labyrinths to get to the main baddie in the end. It feels like a watered down version of Secret of Mana.

Lunar: Dragon Song. A RPG with an unique system where you can switch between Combat Mode and Virtue Mode to fight monsters. With Combat Mode, you earn experience; and Virtue Mode, you gain items and there's tons of stuff to collect. I really only suggest this for diehard Lunar fans.

My World, My Way. A RPG with an unique feature where you play as a spoiled princess and you can literally change the world in your favor. Want more EXP? Get monsters to drop more items? Just pout and whine for it, and it will happen. Unfortunately this game is repetitious and I do not recommend it to anyone. But that's just my opinions.

Rondo of Swords. A SRPG where it has an unique battle system where you attack people by passing through them. It is one of the difficult RPGs I've had my hands on, and there are two paths for your character to choose from and four endings. It is not for everyone, but you can probably find this game cheap.

There's also Magical Starsign, but I didn't enjoyed it enough.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by LinkFanatic

Is TWEWY a turn-based RPG? Those are the only ones I like to play, so the best of those would be appreciated as well

No, it's a very action RPG.

[Refa]

The best turn based RPG on the DS is Chrono Trigger (OK, that's not really fair...maybe the FFIV remake). The DS doesn't have many traditional turn based JRPGs compared to the PSP (it has a lot of other crazy types of RPGs, but again, traditional JRPG fans are out of luck when it comes to original content).

[LinkFanatic]

Originally Posted by Refa

The best turn based RPG on the DS is Chrono Trigger (OK, that's not really fair...maybe the FFIV remake). The DS doesn't have many traditional turn based JRPGs compared to the PSP (it has a lot of other crazy types of RPGs, but again, traditional JRPG fans are out of luck when it comes to original content).

I guess I need to break out my Final Fantasy Chronicles and play Chrono Trigger again...I could of swore the battles were action in that game

[Spectro]

Originally Posted by Refa

Er, yeah, sorry about that.

Some upcoming DS RPGs that noone knows about are the Lufia action RPG remake, Final Fantasy Legends II (SaGa II) remake, and Warriors Of Light. I don't even know if these games are coming to the US.

They better. I'm still waiting for Blood of Bahamut. >


Thanks for all these suggestions, guys. Keep 'em coming. I'm making a list.