Top 10 CRPGs of all time

I know - that one stopped me in my tracks! Normally it is much more matter-of-fact ... that was just blasting away!

Ya, seems rather harsh. I think maybe I wasn't comparing it to the other SSI games, so I wasn't disapointed. Everytime I've played it, I've enjoyed it... Not that I've ever heard anyone else say that :biggrin:
 
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This thread really brought back some fond memories, so thanks to the original poster. I started with the Gold Box games and have played basically everything to come out since then. Here's my list:

1--BG2: Perfectly designed and perfectly executed. It is the pinnacle of the CRPG genre and the game all others strive to immitate. Bioware set the bar very high... perhaps too high for their own good, as everything they do will be compared against this game.

2--Deus Ex: Although some might scoff at it being labeled an RPG, this game (like no other before or since) tricked me into "believing" I was one bad-a$$ mofo of a cybernetic demi-god. Also, Warren Spector's writing and story rival anything ever done in gaming on any platform.

3--Planescape: Although I may have enjoyed this game as much (or more) than any other game in my top ten list, the fact that it is basically an RPG/Adventure forces me to deduct a few points when compared to choices 1 and 2.

4--Daggerfall: This is the first game I played that felt like digital crack to the point that I simply couldn't step away from the computer screen except to eat, sleep, and relieve myself. It was immersion at its quintessential finest.

5--Realms of Arkania: Star Trail: The Dark Eye games are simply brilliant, and this was the best of the bunch. Try to imagine a game with the party-based tactical combat of a Wizardry and the deep story of a Baldur's Gate. Tremendously fun and addictive game with one of the legendary Fat Man's best midi soundtracks.

5--Fallout 2: Although Fallout 1 is a more complete and compact adventure, Fallout 2 has all that icky R-rated edginess that just really lights my candle. ;)

6--Arcanum: This game is the essence of Troika: with deep role-playing, excellent story-telling, and a fully realized world that can be explored in whatever manner you see fit. Playing this game as a sword and gun wielding technologist was pure RPG bliss.

7--Icewind Dale 2: For some, this might be seen as a strange choice, but in many ways this epitomizes how to use a real-time pausable combat system. For me, a great CRPG combat system 1) begs for multiple replays, and 2) is extremely challenging without being frustrating. This game achieved this happy medium better than any game I've ever played.

8--Fallout 1: There's no need to explain why this is in my top ten. If it isn't in yours, you simply haven't played it yet, so shame on you.

9--Shadows Over Riva: Although missing the overland travel of Star Trail, this Dark Eye game still had a world of Das Schwarze Auge charm. Cheese toast anyone?

10--Pools of Darkness: Was there any gaming moment more fun than traipsing around within the god Moander's beating heart? Add to that some of the best gfx and combat ever to grace a Gold Box SSI 3.5 diskette and you've got a package that kept me busy for many, many months.
 
Hi all!

Been reading since the DOT but posting for the first time. I'm an RPGer from the old school. Been playing since ULTIMA III(us old timers don't put the year, we name the game;) )

So here is my top ten...

1. ULTIMA VII- For all the reasons already named. And the music! There was a tune for every situation in the game. Still play and beat it once a year.

2 ULTIMA IV- The game just pulled me in. It had no end boss but the Abyss(the final dungeon for those that didn't complete it) And when you finished that you couldn't fight a boss if you wanted to!

3 Baldur's Gate 2- the game had it all. Every thing worked and a killer story to boot.

4 Gothic 2- First game since U7 that had me exploring every nook and cranny of it's game world. A great achievement.

5 Might and Magic 1- Perhaps not as notable as others in the series but it got me into it's fp style of game play and kept me hooked. To many Star Trek references if I remember correctly.

6 Gothic 3- Simply amazing. To hell with the reviewers. The game is epic, beautiful and dark. I'm about 20 hours in and loving every minute. Other than when its crashing. A real shame the state it was released in in regards to the bugs. This one will move up the list when i'm done, I'm sure...

7 Pool of Radiance- Again might not be as popular as others in the Gold box series, but I had great and memorable times clearing the city blocks. Great treasure too.

8 ULTIMA III- The one that started it all for me. Great music. Does anyone remember how long it took for a ship to appear? For the longest time I was convinced they didn't exist and there was no end to the game!

9 Morrowind- Never did beat it but it certainly gave us a great gameplay we never experienced before didn't it?

10 hmmmm Serpent Isle ULTIMA VII Part 2- This one should be in the same spot as TBG but bucket loads of redundant dialogue (especially in the Silver Seed) takes this down a few spots. Lazarus suffers from this too imho. Both games where well written but the staggering amounts of dialogue actually begin to ironically take away from the immersion. There needed to be a better balance between gameplay and conversing withs npcs.

Honourable mentions- Planescape(too morbid for me), Rings of Zilfin(you read that right), Bard Tale 3, World of Xeen, MM6, Legacy of the Ancients(you read that right) Moebius, Underworld 2, Azure Bonds among others.

Keep up the good work!
 
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Welcome and thanks for your first post. I hope there are many more to come!!
 
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@Diocane

Rings of Zilfin
ringsofzilfin.jpg

is new to me - I'll try this one.
 
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Kudos for mentioning Rings of Zilfin: it was a very interesting game. Also, maybe one of the first games introducing the concept of "Stamina" (called "fatigue" in-game, if I recall well), which diminished overtime, so you had to rest from time to time.
 
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Wow. So thats what Zilfin looked like. A real chud of a game! But you know what, I remember it being real fun, Probably doesn't belong on best of all time list. Neither does Legacy, AB or Moebius, but hey I name em as I've played em. Fatigue factor in Zilfin, you might be right about that. I remember gathering and devouring lots of mushrooms. Might have been to restore fatigue. Ah well, ancient history.

Must really try the Fallout series. They've quite a following it seems... I have Arcanum but I've never really gave it a chance. The problem is time!:)
 
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well, its not easy...

1. Wizardry VII. The one and only.

2. Betrayal at Krondor.

3. Fallout 2.

4. Ambermoon (Albion, Amberstar).

5. Ultima VII.

6. Dark Heart of Uukrul.

7. Planescape Torment.

8. Ultima Underworld (both I and II).

9. Baldurs Gate II.

10. Dungeon Master.

The question is, did the developers forgot how to make a good RPG, or am I simpy getting older...
 
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You're simply getting older!! :biggrin: Unfortunately, the cost of producing and marketing games now prevents devs from experimenting like they used to; check out Troika to see what happens!!
 
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Tremendously fun and addictive game with one of the legendary Fat Man's best midi soundtracks.

Yes, really ? I wonder because I don't know the English version of the game made by SirTech, and the German version had both Midi and Audio CD (the original even consisted of TWO audio CDs because of the lot of music !), which were as far as I know both composed by Guido (Guy) Henkel and Horst Weidle, with Guido Henkel being one of the makers of PS:T.
 
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Ahhh... interesting. So, it was a Guido/Fat Man collaboration... probably why it turned out so good. ;) I happily stand corrected.
 
Here´s the list of my favorite games that I can come to think of at the moment.

Fallout 1&2
Gothic 1-3
NeverwinterNights 1&2
Fable
System shock 2 (played it for the first time 1week ago)
Deus ex
Morrowind
Diablo 2
KotOR 1&2
 
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You really should have tried the original System Shock first. It's a classic!!
 
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The first time I'm doing this:

1. Fallout (look into the light)
2. Fallout 2 (just bigger)
3. Arcanum (combat and graphics being not so great, everything else is top)
4. Temple Of Elemental Evil (D&D combat heaven / if you wanna talk, play Planscape Torment)
5. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (far from being flawless, but I'm only saying Vesuvius and that haunted hotel level)
6. Diablo 2 (back then it was the game to play)
7. Final Fantasy VII (culture shock)
8. Jagged Alliance 2 (where to begin ?)
9. Might & Magic 7 (bad graphics and tedious combat, but who cares ?)
10. Anachronox (just thinking of it, makes me giggle)
11. all the Ultimas and Bard Tales, I have never played, so they didn't make it in my list...and no, I'm not Tim Cain.

Games i have played, but not being in my top 10:
Every Infinity game and expansions, Wiz 8, Gothic 1+2, Deus Ex, Morrowind, K.o.t.o.R 1+2, Might & Magic 6,8,9, Neverwinter Nights...
 
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Wow. So thats what Zilfin looked like.

Yeah, Rings of Zilfin was a fun game back in the SSI heyday. It had pretty amazing graphics on the Atari ST for the time. And if you liked RoZ, you should look into the Magic Candle games, which were created by the same guy, Ali Atabek. They were like Ultima V crossed with RoZ - very detailed and with very cool stories.
 
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It very difficult to choose just 10 games cause there are quite a lot of decent titles out there, but my TOP 10 would be:

1. AMBERMOON
I might be a bit biased because I´m german but this was the RPG that really impressed me when I was young. Perhaps the best german RPG (even if nearly no one outside germany ever heard of it) although it is very difficult to compare Ambermoon with the Gothic-Series because they are divided by a decade of technical progress. Of course Thalion went bankrupt just a short time after the release of Ambermoon but I guess thats the fate that most innovative and creative companies have to suffer sooner or later...:(

2. PLANESCAPE TORMENT
This is really a great game, a real classic that has it all, (weird)humor, complexity, free choice - as a matter affect of this I just knew that it wouldn´t get a successor:D

3. GOTHIC 2
The second best german RPG ever, slightly bugged and ressource-hungry at the time of its release it was the first german RPG to be really recognized on the international market.

4. BALDURS GATE II
I dunno how many hours I´ve spent with this game but it was worth the time (Boo agrees with me;) )

5. EYE OF TEH BEHOLDER 2
Another great game from my Amiga-time, without automapping (there was a level with a lot of spinners and ants where you couldn´t rest if I remember correctly) and sometimes nasty monsters quite challenging when compared to modern hackfests.

6. ULTIMA VII
The first Ultima that I ever played and it made a very good impression.

7. KOTOR
Definitely my most positive gaming surprise in 2003 AD&D and Star Wars compared just can´t go wrong^^

8. FINAL FANTASY VII
I know that some people don´t consider Japan-RPG´s to be real CRPG´s but FF VII is one of the few games that really made a lasting impression on me and I´m still hoping somehow deep in my heart that there will be a remake of this title for the PS 3 somehow, somewhere...

9. THE ELDER SCROLLS III: MORROWIND
It is always sad when the predecessor beats the successor in nearly every area except the graphics but I really don´t want to bash Oblividoom 3D here...;)

10. VAMPIRE BLOODLINES
Extremly buggy after the release, but with the use of the fanpatches a real RPG-Gem. Troika went also bankrupt so it had to be a great developer;)
 
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This is SO hard! I've logged more hours in crpgs than some of you have logged in life :D

1. Ultima IV-the first time I lost an eighth I was devastated. I couldn't believe a game could be complex enough to track my actions and that I had to actually pay the consequences for those actions.

2. Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra. I have played this game more than any other. I like puzzles and riddles and MM3 had them in spades. I also loved the grid-style maps. There is something about clearing a 16X16 map that appeals to me I guess :D

3. Amberstar-The story just appealed to me in a strong way. I wonder if I could get this to play in Dosbox...

4. Daggerfall-I might have played this game for 1000 hours before setting it aside. It was on my hard drive longer than any other game.

5. Magic Candle-Another oldie like the Ultimas. The main theme wasn't as good but the gameplay was fantastic. Hard for me to remember the details after all these years. I need to revisit my early adulthood.

6. Wasteland-First non-fantasy game I ever played. I'll never forget the blotchy yellow "radioactive" areas.

7. Wizardry 6: Band of the Cosmic Forge. This was my favorite of the wizardry series. I need to replay 8 because I got bored with the tedious half hour battles. I never tried it with Wizfast.

8. Morrowind: The first time that I fell in love with a game because of the graphics. The people were ungodly ugly, but the landscapes and skyline were stunning. Once Better Bodies was released, Morrowind became the second longest game to stay on my hard drive.

9. Might and Magic VII-Alchemy and the Dungeon design again captivate me with this game. I still miss my Obsidian weapons though!

10. Oblivion or NWN-Oblivion for the beautiful huge world to play in and NWN for the millions of mods released. NWN is the neverending game. It remains to be seen if NWN2 will ever have the modding community that NWN generated. Obsidian's tools are unfriendly and in some ways much less powerful than NWNs. If NWN2 ever takes off mod-wise, it'll be #10 on my list.
 
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3. Amberstar-The story just appealed to me in a strong way. I wonder if I could get this to play in Dosbox...

Sure you can. But the better idea would be to play Ambermoon with Amiga emulator like WinUAE. If i didnt play it yet and enjoyed Amberstar, its a must.
 
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