The Best RPG at...

[lackblogger]

This is just a funzie one.

Let's make a Frankenstein perfect RPG by combining the best elements from the games that did that element the best. (even if they were otherwise what you would consider shit games)

So which game do you think did whatever elements you choose the best?

Itemisation - Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale
Monster Variety - Icewind Dale, Wizardry 8
Combat Encounters - Knights of the Chalice
Combat Encounter Design - Solasta, Wizardry 8
Faithfulness to Pen and Paper - Temple of Elemental Evil
Companions - Planescape: Torment x 3
Romance - Dragon Age Origins, Witcher 3
Exploration - Baldur's Gate 2, Dark Souls 1, Skyrim, Betrayal at Krondor
Innovative Spells/Powers - Divinity Original Sin, Troubleshooter
Character Building - Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Troubleshooter, Wizardry 8
Soundtrack - Neverwinter Nights, Witcher 3 x 2, Arcanum
Overarching Story - Banner Saga, Planescape Torment, Final Fantasy 7
All the Stories Within the Overarching Story - Avernum, Witcher 3
Meta - Planescape: Torment, The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk
Companion Quests - Baldur''s Gate 2
UI - Neverwinter Nights, Pillars of Eternity 2, Sacred
Dialogues - Disco Elysium
Puzzles - Avernum

Are the nominations so far.

Here I'll add any new categories anyone wants to field with their picks:

Setting - Bloodborne, Skyrim
City - Cyberpunk 2077 x 2
Cool looking spells/powers - Dragon's Dogma
Funniest - South Park: Stick of Truth, The Bard's Tale ARPG
Best Villain - Borderlands 2
Tutorial: Baldur’s Gate
Best starter dungeon - Wizardry 8
Combat Animation - Baldur’s Gate 3
Help System - Temple of Elemental Evil

And if any one game gets 5 or more picks for a category, then the following are the ingredients we'll use to make Frankenstein's Glorious monster:

[space reserved]

nb: this may take a few years...

 

[soola]

Obvious one for me: UI - Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire

 

[danutz_plusplus]

My picks

Itemisation - Icewind Dale. not sure if it's the best one, but I have very fond memories of the item icons
Companions - Planescape: Torment
Exploration - Dark Souls 1
Soundtrack - Witcher 3
Overarching Story - Planescape Torment

Added some new ones
Setting - Bloodborne
City - Cyberpunk 2077

 

[soola]

Soundtrack: Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

 

[Zloth]

Companions - Planescape: Torment
Romance - Witcher 3
Exploration - Skyrim (I can believe Dark Souls, though, I just haven't played any of them yet)
Innovative Spells/Powers - Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children
Cool looking spells/powers - Dragon's Dogma
Character Building - Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children {assuming you mean setting up powers, not how the story builds the character}
Soundtrack - Witcher 3 {Skyrim a VERY close second}
Overarching Story - Final Fantasy 7 (original)
All the Stories Within the Overarching Story - Witcher 3
Setting - Skyrim
City - Cyberpunk 2077
Funniest - South Park: Stick of Truth
Best Villain - Borderlands 2

 

[Carnifex]

I'll go with just one, and it's my favourite computer game of all-time: best overall exploration factor: Betrayal at Krondor. Games were never the same for me after the summer of 1993.

 

[soola]

Tutorial: Baldur’s Gate

 

[lackblogger]

I'll go with just one, and it's my favourite computer game of all-time: best overall exploration factor: Betrayal at Krondor. Games were never the same for me after the summer of 1993.

Would you like Overall Exploration Factor to be a whole new category, or are you happy for it to be nominated just for the existing Exploration category?

 

[Carnifex]

I'm happy with just the nomination, that's enough!

 

[lackblogger]

Exploration - Dark Souls 1/2/3

I was just updating the OP and realised I'll need a definitive 1, 2 or 3 here. Surely one of them must have taken the cake (and eaten it whole).

 

[danutz_plusplus]

I was just updating the OP and realised I'll need a definitive 1, 2 or 3 here. Surely one of them must have taken the cake (and eaten it whole).

The first one, in that case.

 

[lackblogger]

Cool, OP updated.

Planescape already has 3 nominations for Companions, and we're still very early on.

 

[soola]

Ambient and Environmental Sound & Sound Effects: Baldur’s Gate 1/2

I’m playing Baldur’s Gate 1 my first time right now and I feel like what is keeping me around the most—since BG2 was so important to me and vastly superior—is the environmental sound. The monster sound effects are pretty silly but everything else—the sound of wind & rain; shuffling through a cupboard; the random screech of an eagle—are a wonder.

 

[soola]

Facial and combat animation: Baldur’s Gate 3.

One big thing that really drew me into BG3 was the excellent animation particularly in facial expressions and animation. It was easy to see even from the early trailers that a monumental immersive feature was going to be the companions and the movie-like way they expressed themselves. I also remember seeing one more trailer just before release and not seeing that feature as prominently and being worried it fell by the wayside. Thankfully I was wrong.

 

[lackblogger]

Ambient and Environmental Sound & Sound Effects: Baldur’s Gate 1/2

You'll have to pick either 1 or 2, no fence sitting for this exercise!

Facial and combat animation: Baldur’s Gate 3.

That's two things that shouldn't be combined into one category IMO. Unless you meant the looks on their faces during combat?

 

[Lakorus]

Wizardry 8 is good for a couple of nominees in my opinion:
- Best starter dungeon
- Best character system
- Best tactical fighting system
- Monster variety

I'll second the nomination for Witcher 3 in the category "All the Stories Within the Overarching Story" and add Geralt as "Best protagonist" (sorry Aloy)

"Darkest Dungeon" for "Best narrator", closely followed by "Disco Elysium" (this may change later on)

Funniest: The Bard's Tale ARPG

@lackblogger: What do you mean with "Meta"?

 

[lackblogger]

Wizardry 8 is good for a couple of nominees in my opinion:
- Best starter dungeon
- Best character system
- Best tactical fighting system
- Monster variety

I'll second the nomination for Witcher 3 in the category "All the Stories Within the Overarching Story" and add Geralt as "Best protagonist" (sorry Aloy)

"Darkest Dungeon" for "Best narrator", closely followed by "Disco Elysium" (this may change later on)

Funniest: The Bard's Tale ARPG

@lackblogger: What do you mean with "Meta"?

I'll blend some of your choices with existing categories. Best character system I'll put in character building, best tactical fighting I'll put under combat design.

Best narrator and best protagonist I'll take the executive decision to leave out from categories for now as they are such a uniquely specific thing that only/barely a handful of RPGs have - Generally speaking, the best protagonist would be the avatar you create, which is a bit too rabbit-holey for a simple exercise such as this. I guess I'll add them if loads of people start shouting at me as a result, obviously.

Meta definition from the web:
"(of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential"

So stuff that works on the basic level, ie: a player could enjoy it without any knowledge of the genre, but, and a very big but, they would get sooo much more out of it from understanding the genre to the extent where most of the content is a reference of some kind to the genre itself. Most comedy RPGs, and jokes in general, are Meta in some way, but meta doesn't have to be either funny or a joke, just as a joke doesn't need to be meta.

An example of an RPG meta might be a game where you kill a demon in the tutorial and finish the game by defeating the end-boss rat.

 

[Zloth]

An example of an RPG meta might be a game where you kill a demon in the tutorial and finish the game by defeating the end-boss rat.

I really hope a game does that before everyone forgets about killing rats!

Hmmm... Naheulbeuk, South Park games, Dungeon Keeper... I think I'll give the Meta award to The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk.

 

[soola]

You'll have to pick either 1 or 2, no fence sitting for this exercise!

Baldur’s gate 2 then

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Back then, I was always impressed by the help system of TOEE.
That was before I learned about the "right click on item for info" help system of Drakensang.

I'm actually a bit surprised that no-one posted help systems here.

Ah, and, yes, I loved the UI of the very first Sacred game, back then ...