All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'rpg, Playstation, casual' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg en-us Sequel to the early PlayStation RPG. As a member of the Alliance, a military force only really hinted at in the original, you play the unwitting hero of the game: an orphan who has been raised by a quiet, unassuming battle hero in a seemingly ancient war. Alongside you in the ranks is your best friend Jowy, a boy born of nobility but who has never been able to receive approval in his stubborn father's eyes. As the game begins, you are immediately tossed into a tale of political strife, betrayal and war on a grand scale beyond your scope in the early stages. As the game wears on, the plot will twist, turn and develop in numerous ways that expose the personalities of each of the characters involved. The battle system is turn-based, with the option to equip Runes for special abilities, combine party member attacks to create chain combos or devastating spells, and the option to run the battle in Auto mode.

--Original Source Text: IGN

]]> 24 Dec 2006 11:29:53 "The world of Fa'Diel is a formless mass. It is up to you to create the world, using artifacts that are spread throughout the world. At the beginning of the game, the player must choose a female or male character, a starting weapon, and place to start. Once in the starting area, the player will be able to complete a small quest and find more artifacts. With that done, the new artifacts can be placed on the map to create new areas that have their own unique mini-quests. There is a total of 60 quests and artifacts to discover. The best way to think of all of the stories is to consider them the songs on a record. Individually, they are great; however, when combined they make up something much larger. The world of Fa'Diel will become what you make it in LEGEND OF MANA."-IGN

]]> 05 Feb 2007 03:49:51 Vandal Hearts II: Heavenly Gate is the sequel to the Konami developed Turn-Based Tactical RPG "Vandal Hearts", also for the Sony Playstation.


"Aided by the power of a sacred sword, Nirbath led the blessed. The last of its powers used, the sword shattered into a thousand pieces, each of which is said to have become the first of every weapon known to mankind"


The story follows the life of the main character of the game, Joshua. The game begins in the country of Natra when Joshua, but a child is orphaned at a young age. His uncle, a lowly farmer, steps up for the boy and takes him to the village called Polata, where he now lives. Due to the progressive education system of Polatas Mayor Kossimo, Joshua is now able to be schooled amongst nobles. This is when he meets Adele, the niece of Kossimo, and they eventually form a close although mostly unspoken bond. As the game progresses Joshua is tricked into killing Kossimo. Realising the gravity of the situation he runs away, thus ending the prologue.

The next part of the game takes place many years later during a state of civil war when Joshua is the leader of the notorious and highly skilled bandit group called the "Red Wolves". This is when he meets Baron Pratue, and the dangerous journey to save the country begins.

The game had a similar feel to the first game despite having nothing to do with each other story wise. The combat system has changed somewhat in that it now features a Dual-Turn System, splitting the screen and allowing the player and opposition to move at the same time.

]]> 27 Feb 2007 06:53:36 Breath of Fire III is the third RPG in the Breath of Fire series. It was originally released for the PlayStation in Japan in 1997 by Capcom, and was later brought to North America and Europe in 1998. It was ported to the PSP and was released in Japan in August 2005 and in Europe in February 2006.

The game follows the adventures of Ryu (the protagonist) who is the sole survivor of the Dragon Clan, as he struggles to discover why his clan was wiped out. The adventure takes him to many places, on journeys thought impossible, and in the end he will discover power in the ability to choose his own future.

As the last survivor of the Dragon Clan, Ryu must continue his struggle against the evil goddess Myria, who has taken over the world and now controls it.

]]> 07 Mar 2007 06:23:52 Vanguard Bandits is a Japanese strategic computer role-playing game (JRPG) for the PlayStation. It was originally released in Japan; later it was adapted for the PlayStation console, and it was translated for the American market by the video game company Working Designs. Released by Human Entertainment in Japan under the title Epica Stella, it was retitled Detonator Gauntlet by Working Designs before Acclaim forced the company to change it due to its similarity to the Gauntlet series of action-fantasy games. It was eventually released as Vanguard Bandits and included a bonus demo disc of Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete for PlayStation.

Vanguard Bandits is a strategy-RPG featuring tactical combat in a medieval fantasy world in which knights and soldiers pilot mecha.

This game takes place on the Continent of Eptina where numerous battles have taken place over territory, goods, and beliefs. In the midst of the conflict archaeologists in the Pharastia Kingdom discovered giant armored mecha that they called ATACs, or All Terrain Armored Combatants, that could be controlled by the thoughts of the pilot seated inside the unit's head. The Kingdom used the power of these ATACs to assume control of the entire continent, and then decided to use them to keep the peace in their new territories. Pharastia soon began to lose control as Coup d'etats and civil wars erupted which left it in a defeated state, with only their standing army remaining.

Vanguard Bandits is an RPG strategy game played on an isometric grid of squares with representations of all the player and computer controlled ATACs, similar to Final Fantasy Tactics and the Front Mission series by Squaresoft. Each character can move around on the grid, attack, and perform support abilities. All actions during that ATACs turn takes up AP (Actions Points), and attacks produce FP (Faint Points). If the Faint Points reach maximum, the pilot is knocked out and cannot perform any actions until he/she awakens, leaving him/her open to attack. When an ATAC unit attacks or defends from an attack, a detailed three-dimensional battle animation with music is shown over the normal grid. Between each battle is a story cutscene where the characters within the ATACs are represented on a similar grid and can interact and further the story line.

All-Terrain Armored Combatants, or ATACs, are the main fighting force of the various armies in the game; indeed, the entire combat system revolves around them. ATACs are large bipedal, humanoid (though one ATAC is a quadruped) mechs powered by gemstones. Despite their high technological complexity, ATACs still utilize traditional weapons such as swords and spears. However, they can also use special attacks such as fireballs, earthquakes, flying shards of ice and tornadoes, depending on their gemstone.

]]> 26 Jan 2007 12:32:16 Vandal Hearts is an original IP developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya. The game is a turn-based tactical RPG similar to "Shining Force" and "Final Fantasy Tactics". It was released for the original Sony Playstation and the Sega Saturn.


Story Synopsis:


"Thousands of years ago, the holy man known to history as Toroah the Messiah traveled far and wide across the continent of Sostegaria, spreading his teachings throughout the land. After his death, his descendants and heirs assumed absolute political power over the region, forming the basis of the Holy Ashah Dynasty and ruling through a combination of religious doctrine and military power for millennia. The kings and queens of the Holy Ashah Dynasty, however, did not always rule wisely or justly, and, as time passed, the citizenry began to resent the power of their leaders.

Fifteen years ago, this growing discontent found its ultimate expression in the person of Arris the Sage, who united the disparate anti-royal factions throughout Sostegaria and shaped them into a powerful guerrilla army. Under the cunning leadership of Arris, this Liberation Army managed to outwit and outmaneuver the Royal Army, and finally smashed through to the palace of the Ashah Dynasty itself, and burnt it to the ground.

With the monarchy dissolved, the rebels establish a ruling council founded on the principles of democracy and popular sovereignty. From the ashes of the Holy Ashah Empire emerges the Republic of Ishtaria. The leaders of the revolution naturally assumed leadership positions within the new republic: all, that is, except for Arris himself, who, the battle having been won, quietly slipped into the shadows and disappeared.

Today, the fledgling republic is in increasingly dire straits: the autocratic Minister of Defense, Hel Spites, and his elite anti-terrorism squad, the Crimson Guard, are using ever-increasing force to stamp out the last vestiges of resistance to Ishtarian rule, while they allow outlaws to roam the countryside and pirates to sail the seas. Meanwhile, Ash Lambert and his colleagues at the third battalion of the Ishtarian Security Forces begin to suspect a conspiracy at the highest levels of government. Ash's attempts to draw attention to the situation, though, only draw the ire of the conspirators themselves, leaving only Ash and his allies to foil the their plans and restore order to the nation."



Battles take place between two sides on three-dimensional maps viewed through a camera of which the player has complete control. Somewhat resembling the game of Chess the player moves their characters (think pieces) within the allowed movement squares on each turn. Once all the players characters have finished moving or have used an action - such as attacking, using potions or casting spells, the opposing side then takes the next turn until they have exhausted all movement opportunities, and so forth. Experience Points are earned by defeating enemies and casting spells, leading to characters levelling up and becoming more powerful.

The RPG element takes form in the aforementioned Experience Points system and between battles when the player is able to talk to NPC's, buy merchandise from stores, upgrade weapons and armour and even upgrade individuals within the party to a higher class of warrior.

The game spawned a sequel titled Vandal Hearts II: Heavenly Gate, which was only released on the Playstation. There is also a new Vandal Hearts game in development for the Nintendo DS.

]]> 26 Feb 2007 11:18:15 In a time of both sophisticated technology and powerful magic, an evil sorceress corrupts the world's largest military power through manipulation and deception, enslaving mankind to do her bidding. Her goal is not something as simple as world domination; but to completely conquer all of space and time.

To counter the turn of events, various leaders head combat training schools, known as Gardens, that turn out elite fighting forces. Known as SeeDs, they defend, serve, and protect humankind from the sorceress. The sole purpose of these academies is to vanquish the sorceress and save humanity as we know it, although they take many other assignments for the right price.

A small, loose-knit group of SeeD graduates find themselves wrapped in a much bigger endeavor than simple military combat. Now, a gunblade specialist, together with a diverse group of young heroes, must set aside his fears, face the emotions he's run from, and become the leader that he never wanted to be.

]]> 14 Jan 2007 09:18:24 The player controls Musashi, a boy summoned to the Allucaneet Kingdom by its Princess — named Fillet — to save it from the invading Thirstquencher Empire. Fillet's intention was to summon the legendary Brave Fencer Musashi, who had saved the kingdom from a monster called the Wizard of Darkness 150 years before; she is therefore disappointed when she gets a small boy instead. Nevertheless, Musashi is given the blade Fusion, and charged with the task of obtaining Brave Fencer Musashi's sword — Lumina, the Sword of Luminescence — before the Thirstquencher Army does.

The bulk of the game involves Musashi fighting a variety of enemies, using both Fusion and Lumina, to save the kingdom from various threats (which range from fires breaking out, to an invasion of half-vampire, half-zombie monsters called Vambees), and to acquire five scrolls which increase Lumina's strength and grant Musashi new abilities. There are also several minigames and puzzles scattered throughout which must be completed to advance the plot.

]]> 10 Feb 2007 01:38:47 Popping up in the height of the world's Pokemon craze, Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu is a 3D fantasy-based RPG adventure.
Early one morning the peaceful village of Syrus is attacked by a swarm of several forest minions called the Onibubu, the Locusts of Apocalypse. The dust they spreads plunges many of the villagers into a deep sleep which they cannot wake from, without the legendary Calabas Herb hidden deep in the massive forest. Since the resident Cocoon Master, Riketz, the Lion of Parel is no longer available, the village reluctantly sends his son Levant into the forest to retrieve the herb. His only hope of survival against the minions of Elrihm, god of the forest is to imprison the creatures in silk cocoons and tame them with the help of his childhood friend and young wife Mahbu, who is the only one able to purify the creatures. But eventually Levant finds himself involved in something much bigger than just saving his village...

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