Board 8 > what are your opinions of the following RPG series'?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Lufia

Illusion of Gaia\Terranigma

Breath of Fire

and Shining Force

@Whiskey_Nick RPG lord right?

also is @Princess_Anri still around?
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Lufia II is one of my favorite games ever.

Illusion of Gaia is great.

Never played Shining Force.

Never played enough of Breath of Fire to have an opinion. I think I played a decent amount of 2 and liked it okay.

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Lufia - only played 2 for the SNES one time, can't remember it very well. decent from what I remember.

Illusion of Gaia - pretty good. really good atmosphere/storytelling. if ghibli did twin peaks or if lynch did castle in the sky.

Terranigma - never played

Breath of Fire - would certainly welcome a true revival of this series though honestly it's a bit overrated. 4 is the best.

Shining Force- never played!

Illusion of Gaia is excellent, I remember getting stuck at one point.

Terranigma I never did get around to, but I remember heavenscloud1989 being really into it.
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Lufia 1 - boring and bad
Lufia 2 - great! the plot itself is pedestrian but it has a lot of charm
Lufia 3 - pretty good. has a cool unique battle system where your characters are arranged in a grid, and character placement influences other characters (I don't remember the specifics, but it was neat). unfortunately my save got wiped two-thirds through the game and I never bothered going back

Breath of Fire 4 - meh. bog standard RPG, couldn't get into it. Fou-Lu is awesome though
Breath of Fire 5 - one of my favorite games. I love the dark atmosphere (the whole mood/aesthetic is so good) and the battle system. combat is tactical but there's no grid; you can move around freely and set AoEs and stuff. there's a lot of emphasis on positioning (e.g., using knockback on enemies or manipulating them into traps). the main downside is that it's got a "save token" system where your hard saves are limited, although iirc you get unlimited soft saves for if you need to stop playing.

Shining Force 2 - fun. Peter is OP
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Lufia

2 was cool. Not one of the best on the console, but still worth playing. The rest of the series not so much, although 3 is kind of interesting, at least.

Illusion of Gaia\Terranigma

Illusion of Gaia was great. I'll play Terranigma/Soul Blazer one of these days.

Breath of Fire

1 and 2 were pretty average (although 2 has one of the worst translations of any game I've seen.), 3 and 4 were pretty good, and I enjoyed 5 a lot, but it's very divisive.

Shining Force

2 was my favorite game as a kid for quite awhile. It's still infinitely replayable for me. Too easy, and the writing is laughably bad, but I still love it. 1 never had the same amount of charm to me, but it's still a good time. The Saturn games are great (although playing all three scenarios will feel very repetitive) and thankfully Saturn emulation seems to run them pretty well.
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Played Breath of Fire 1 and 2, years ago...
I remember them being super generic RPGs, like, nothing stand out at all


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Punnyz posted...

Lufia

1 is bland and kinda boring but its not the worst RPG ever, I wouldn't recommend it personally though. But if you're the type that likes to play like, old NES RPGs it feels a lot like those and is probably better than a lot of them, even.
2 is really good. Charming cast and characters with a decent plot, and the gameplay while relatively standard is quite solid. Also, Ancient Cave. I'll still sometimes just boot it up for an Ancient Cave run.
3 has some unique gameplay that works pretty well and has a pretty decent plot but the dungeons are all randomized and it really hurts the game.
Pretend Ruins of Lore doesn't exist.
The remake of 2 on DS is fine but the redesigns for the characters are terrible and I'm basically never a fan of turning turn based RPGs into action RPGs.

Punnyz posted...

Illusion of Gaia\Terranigma

Both are fantastic. Illusion of Gaia has the stronger plot while Terranigma has the stronger gameplay IMO, but really both are amazing on both counts anyway. Can't recommend these enough. If there was anything on this list I'd say are 'must plays' it would be these two games.

Punnyz posted...

Breath of Fire

I've only played 1 and 2 and they were solid, albeit a bit uninspired RPGs. That said, like Lufia 2, I remember them fondly for having a lot of charm. I've heard the rest of the series is good too.

Punnyz posted...

and Shining Force

A lot of people love this series but it always just seemed like an inferior Fire Emblem to me. Tried 1, 2, and 3 and dropped them all within about 5-6 hours/ Wouldn't say not to try it, though- like I said, a lot of people love the series and I do see that other people might enjoy it and why they would.

okay wow I did not expect that much praise for Illusion of Gaia.
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I really like the animations and sprite work of Breath of Fire 3 and 4, would one have to play the first two to fully enjoy these?

BoF1 and 2 don't seem to be stacking up
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have any of yall tried the GBA BoF 1 and 2?
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There are connections, but starting at 3 is fine.
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Shining Force was fun, can be very easy (especially if you just egress all the time to grind) but had a lot of charm to it

I have most of these loaded on a SNES classic I just need to remember them (and it doesnt help that Im playing a big RPG right now in DQ11)

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I played BoF1 on the snes and beat it.

It was alright, but too long for how simple it is and I wouldn't play it again.
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Played a bit of BoF III, seemed okay
Played bits of the Shining Force series and really liked it but have never quite gotten around to taking the plunge for real

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Lufia - as has been stated, first one is bad. Lufia 2 is great.

Illusion of Gaia\Terranigma - never played

Breath of Fire - 4 > 3 > 2 > 1, 5 is a crime against humanity

Shining Force - solid series
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Shining force 3 has the best voice acting of all time. And also the result of my favorite find ive ever had at a garage sale/flea market ever.

Series as a whole, shining force 2 was my fav easily.

Illusion of gaia is kinda overrated nowadays imo. Back in the days of snes not so much.

Lufia 2 was the only good one imo

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Breath of Fire III is sneakily one of the best JRPGs of the era. Breath of Fire IV is also great and has one of the best RPG villains ever (Fou-Lu).
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I should add that Soul Blazer is considered part of the same line as Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma.
Its also the first game of that line.

I played Terranigma and liked it a lot. Though I remember having the cheat because one of the bosses was just ridiculously difficult, then I got to the final dungeon and it glitched on me so I wasnt able to beat it.
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Barely played any Lufia games but I heard that Lufia 2 is top tier SNES RPG. Same thing with Terranigma, and Illusion of Gaia is supposed to also be good right?

I really like the first three BoF games.

Avoid all the Shining Force games! Only idiotic nerds likes those n00b strategy games!

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Lufia 3 is one of my favorite overlooked gems of an RPG. The big knock against it is indeed very true, which is that the randomized dungeons all feel exactly the same and it makes the overall flow of the adventure feel really repetitive - go to a town, see a cutscene, buy some stuff, go to a dungeon that feels exactly the same as the last but with a different tileset and enemies, see another cutscene, etc. And the plot and script is... not much to speak of. But the battle system is so unique and ambitious that it's worth the price of admission alone; it's an extremely fun system to design and tweak a party in and the challenge level of the game is juuuuust right, so mechanically speaking it's one of the more satisfying old-school RPGs I've played. The music's really fun too and I just really like GBC aesthetics in general, games from like 1998-2001 had a cool look to them.

Breath of Fire 3 & 4 are awesome.
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Lufia: Fun games for their time. I don't know if the random battle thing would hold up today.

Soulblazer/Illusion of Gaia: OK games. I wouldn't play them a second time.

Breath of Fire: An also-ran series. 3 hit a sweet spot, but the other 3 weren't that good.

Shining Force: I guess I want to like it, but I had to force myself through the first game and never really got into the second.

Punnyz posted...

Lufia

Illusion of Gaia\Terranigma

Breath of Fire

and Shining Force

@Whiskey_Nick RPG lord right?

also is @Princess_Anri still around?

Never played
Never played
Finished all of them 4 > 3 > 2 > 5 > 1
Played the first one fun game
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BoF: I've played all except 2. 1 was fun, but I think it'd feel real outdated nowadays. 3 was super generic. The Fou-Lu stuff in 4 is amazing, but he mostly disappears after the first 20% of the game, unfortunately, and the rest isn't great.

5 is awesome and super worth playing. Very unique. Super cool atmosphere. Some of the best atmosphere in any JRPG, honestly.

Uglyface2 posted...

Breath of Fire: An also-ran series. 3 hit a sweet spot, but the other 3 weren't that good.

wow forgot about 5 what a post
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Punnyz posted...

Lufia

Illusion of Gaia\Terranigma

Breath of Fire

and Shining Force

Lufia: First game is pretty interesting and brought some unique ideas to the table, but it's dated enough and in the right ways where in retrospect most people will go back and play it and think it was pretty standard. 2 basically takes the unique ideas and interesting elements of the franchise, it refines the presentation, and created a product that is considered an all time great. later games tend to have mixed reception and the series essentially died as a result. the GBC one is actually pretty good but, well, it is a gameboy game. you have to go in with the right expectations.

Breath of Fire: Like Lufia, the first game feels pretty dated now despite having some unique and interesting ideas. I doubt the franchise would even exist if it wasn't for the fact that, within the context of when it was released, the game did stand out a bit. Also like Lufia, the second game really pulled everything together. BoF 2 is a legendary game. Not personally a fan of any of the later games but some people do enjoy them. Unlike Lufia, I wouldn't say this series "died" after the first two games. It just depends on who you ask about the later games as to whether they're worth playing.

Shining Force: Gonna stick to the classics only with this one because that is what my experience was limited to. I played these games a ton and loved them as a kid. Unlike Lufia and Breath of Fire, unfortunately, I think they aged very poorly. They lack so many quality of life features that become essential to the strategy RPG genre later. It's very hard to go back and play these games now. Nothing about the gameplay feels satisfying to me, and this is coming from someone who played a lot of classic games when they were released, and still plays a lot of them today. Everything in SF1-2 just sort of... happens. Your characters go when they go, they miss when they miss, they do as much damage as they do. There's no way to have any idea about what is happening on the battlefield and that's pretty bad form for an SRPG. BoF 1 and Lufia 1 might have been been unrefined, but there was no core gameplay flaws with them -- and they improved upon their presentation with the second game. Shining Force 2 doesn't fix most of the issues with Shining Force 1, most notably the gameplay failures.

I've played Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma but I don't feel like I'm qualified to say as much about them. They were somewhat fun, from what I remember. I'd probably need to replay them through a modern lens (like I've done with all the games mentioned above) before I felt comfortable giving my opinion.
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Lufia
- Played some of Lufia II. The combat and puzzle solving were a lot of fun, and I like how much the equipment changes up the dynamics of combat for each character; everyone feels limited in a good way. However, my breaking point was always dealing with the Monster Rancher-esque pet system, balancing what inventory to keep and what to feed, etc.

Illusion of Gaia\Terranigma
- Illusion of Gaia is one of my favorite games still with excellent visuals, music, characters, settings, and story. Soul Blazer is fun, too. Terranigma... it's a great game the first time you play it, but it just feels hollow subsequently. Illusion the best.

Breath of Fire
- Hmm. Despite having played a great deal of I, II, and III... I don't really have a strong opinion. They're fine RPGs with a colorful cast, and III is excellent til the desert, but they're not substantially memorable. Great fishing minigame though.

I will say that the characters are very memorable visually with lots of cool animal races and really great coloring. The GBA Breath of Fire is a very good transfer, and IIRC alters some translation that makes one or two late game story quests... intelligible to figure out? (How do I spend five minutes on a sentence and still fail?)

and Shining Force
- Tried to play once. I'm bad at large RPG party management

Illusion of Gaia >> Breath of Fire III > Lufia II >> Breath of Fire II > Soul Blazer > Terranigma >> Breath of Fire

Double >> indicates dropping a tier, so A, B, C, D. None Fs.
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Lufia is awesome as shit.

Never played the others.
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I didn't even know Soul Blazer existed

I had no idea that was a trilogy
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Punnyz posted...

I didn't even know Soul Blazer existed

I had no idea that was a trilogy

Quadrilogy if you count Granstream Saga from PS1!
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oh yeah soul blazer is pretty cool. I remember enjoying it quite a bit. but I was like 15 at the time and I can't remember anything specific about it... just a general idea of what the game is about.
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JonThePenguin posted...

Punnyz posted...

I didn't even know Soul Blazer existed

I had no idea that was a trilogy

Quadrilogy if you count Granstream Saga from PS1!

https://bigmemes.funnyjunk.com/thumbnails/comments/Orly+_f6f0e77639b7ad7c06999e8dff5445d0.png
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when yall say third Lufia, do yall mean the GBC one or the GBA
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It's the GBC one.
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Lufia - never played
Illusion of Gaia\Terranigma - meh
Breath of Fire - amazing
Shining Force - good

soul blazer is pretty simple, but has a fairly satisfying gameplay loop. Illusion of Gaia has the best story and gameplay, but the story is also pretty bizarre in some aspects and the cutscenes are both pretty long winded and have slow text occasionally having lengthy semi interactive story stretches after bosses but before you can save again. Terranigma tries to balance everything out and has a neat premise, but eh I kind of thought that it totally fell apart by the end.

as already stated most of the love for lufia is for the second game, the first and third are more standard/unremarkable. ruins of lore tries to go back to the style of older games after Legend Returns was more of a randomly generated dungeon crawler... but screws it up because the class design/game balance is straight garbage and generally comes off as cheap/ugly. Curse of the Sinistrals is a remake of lufia 2, with a few changes that upset people because ~nostalgia~ but aren't really important other than turning it from a turn based game to a b tier ish ds action rpg. nothing too bad or irritating that I remember other than the mine cart bit but nothing great either.

breath of fire 5 is amazing, but definitely divisive since it's an unconventional scifi survival horror influenced game. the rest of the series is pretty standard other than having a lot of anthropomorphic races and the ability to turn into a dragon. 1 isn't bad but pretty boring. 2 is better, other than having a crappy dragon system and fusions that wear off in the middle of dungeons. 3 kind of suffers from the rpg plot equivalent of Hunter X Hunter pacing (it has a bad tendency of forgetting the characters' actual goals and motivation and such to just sort of meander around aimlessly with weird one off diversions that don't really further the plot like literally learning how to make sushi that end up dragging on for hours of gameplay time until the writers realize that they ran out of time to properly develop things and just sort of unceremoniously dump a bunch of stuff basically right before the final boss). 4 has an interesting main villain and some really memorable moments/high highs but also has a mostly bleh cast and sort of coasts along going through the motions most of the game.

Shining force is basically Fire Emblem without a lot of what makes FE interesting to its fans. It's not bad, but isn't really remarkable gameplay wise either other than being able to walk around a bit and do stuff between battles.
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I appreciate all of the opinions shared

Thank you all
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BoF3 and BoF4 are two of my favourite games ever. BoF5 i couldn't get into.
I'd love to see a revival along with the Suikiden series.

Im sure i have BoF and BoF2 on wii console but never actually played lol.

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