Vapourware RPGs that can legitimately be called masterpieces

[biggestboss]

Things Dark Souls 2 does right:
-Atmosphere
-Environments
-Story (subjective) - I do actualy like the relatively lower stakes story in 2

Things Dark Souls 2 does wrong:
-Connection between environments - Certain locations segue into each other in extremely nonsensical ways (especially the lava level), also one of my most favorite quotes by a human ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UScsme8didI&t=18m49s
-Encounter design - way too many hordes and git gud fights for the sake of being difficult which plagued the series starting with 2 and culminating in Suckiro
-Lazy copy-pasted bossfights that later on become lazy copy-pasted trashfights in areas that don't even make sense to contain said enemies
-Going from full analog 360 degree movement to 8-way walk/run (movement snaps to up, down, left, right, and diagonals)
-Many enemy and boss attacks have horrible hitboxes, especially grab moves, which taint a lot of fights that otherwise would be generally great or even amazing (Sir Alonne for example)
-Having Estus Flasks and consumable healing makes no sense from a design or practical perspective

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Since it seems that we shifted away from RPG masterpieces to masterpieces in general, I'd nominate Alpha Centauri.

 

[Old Hans]

magic candle 1. that game was awesome

 

[Curratum]

Things Dark Souls 2 does right:
-Atmosphere
-Environments
-Story (subjective) - I do actualy like the relatively lower stakes story in 2

Things Dark Souls 2 does wrong:
-Connection between environments - Certain locations segue into each other in extremely nonsensical ways (especially the lava level), also one of my most favorite quotes by a human ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UScsme8didI&t=18m49s
-Encounter design - way too many hordes and git gud fights for the sake of being difficult which plagued the series starting with 2 and culminating in Suckiro
-Lazy copy-pasted bossfights that later on become lazy copy-pasted trashfights in areas that don't even make sense to contain said enemies
-Going from full analog 360 degree movement to 8-way walk/run (movement snaps to up, down, left, right, and diagonals)
-Many enemy and boss attacks have horrible hitboxes, especially grab moves, which taint a lot of fights that otherwise would be generally great or even amazing (Sir Alonne for example)
-Having Estus Flasks and consumable healing makes no sense from a design or practical perspective

I wouldn't argue any of the negatives here. It's just that I am HUUUUGE on the atmosphere and environments of the game. Everything clicks and works for me, I GET the places, I feel the feels I imagine they are designed to provoke, and that's huge to me in a game.

 

[AdamReith]

Broken Sword. Perfectly realised adventure game.

 

[Alphard]

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

FF6

Don't say 8, don't say 8...

7

DON'T SAY 8, DON'T SAY 8.

9

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

A masterpiece to me is looser than Liluras definition. It is a game that is perfect even with its imperfections. My list would go something like:

Morrowind
Gothic 1
Master of Magic
Icewind Dale
Lords of Xulima
Avernum Escape From the Pit
Baldur's Gate 1
Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines
Planescape Torment
Disco Elysium
The Outer Worlds
Fallout New Vegas
Skyrim
Elminage Gothic
Kenshi
Arcanum
Fallout 1
Risen 1
ELEX
Chrono Trigger
Tides of Numenera
Final Fantasy 6, 7, 15
and a few others I'm missing off the top. Basically the most excellent RPGs that create a remarkable total package.

 

[biggestboss]

It is a game that is perfect even with its imperfections.

F L U E N T

 

[Nano]

Disappointed that no one's mentioned System Shock 2 yet.

 

[Cat Dude]

Fallout 3
Skyrim
Fallout 4
Dragon Age Inquisition
Mass Effect 2
Diablo 3

 

[Grunker]

ELEX

Even as a meme this is retardred

 

[jaydee2k]

The Chinese have still not put you in gulag huh

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Disappointed that no one's mentioned System Shock 2 yet.

Endgame takes a nosedive in quality.

The fact that Ultima Underworld has only been mentioned twice in this thread is appalling. For shame, Codex.

Of the Goldbox games I’d say the Kenyan games are closest. Not sure if I’d say they quite get there though.


Edit: That autocorrect. Krynn, not Kenyan.

 

[Parabalus]

- Warband (PC)
- Darklands (PC)
- Wasteland (C=64)
- Captive (Amiga)
- Hired Guns (Amiga)
- Dungeon Master (Atari ST)

 

[overly excitable young man]

What are even Captive and Hired Guns?
Are they thrown in there to suggest an exquisite taste?

 

[biggestboss]

Endgame takes a nosedive in quality.

The fact that Ultima Underworld has only been mentioned twice in this thread is appalling. For shame, Codex.

Of the Goldbox games I’d say the Kenyan games are closest. Not sure if I’d say they quite get there though.


Edit: That autocorrect. Krynn, not Kenyan.

Can't speak for everyone else, but I personally didn't want to name masterpieces that other people already named because I feel that it would just be the same three games named over and over.

 

[Alphard]

A masterpiece to me is looser than Liluras definition. It is a game that is perfect even with its imperfections. My list would go something like:

Morrowind
Gothic 1
Lords of Xulima
Avernum Escape From the Pit
Baldur's Gate 1
Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines
Planescape Torment
Disco Elysium
The Outer Worlds
Fallout New Vegas
Skyrim
Elminage Gothic
Kenshi
Arcanum
Fallout 1
Risen 1
ELEX
Chrono Trigger
Tides of Numenera
Final Fantasy 6, 7, 15
and a few others I'm missing off the top. Basically the most excellent RPGs that create a remarkable total package.

Skyrim is at best a mediocre rpg. How can it be a masterpiece?

 

[Scroo]

Wizardry VII

Fate: Gates of Dawn (!!)

Dark Souls

 

[Twiglard]

I'd say that a masterpiece is a game that is as close to perfection as possible given its self-imposed limits

If a game innovates, it's far from perfect. If it doesn't, who cares about playing it? I bet some of the sequel-games have perfected mechanics.

 

[overly excitable young man]

Xin Xianjian Qixia Zhuan is definitely a masterpiece.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Skyrim is at best a mediocre rpg. How can it be a masterpiece?

Mediocre to who? I find it has rather high quality systems and the interplay of all the systems makes it greater than the sum of its parts. For me. I'm not claiming anything objectively, just my personal subjective masterpieces.

 

[overly excitable young man]

What are these systems?

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

What are these systems?

I value the freedom the game offers. Freedom to create your own character, their story, explore your own path through the world. Regardless if you like Skyrim or not you must agree there aren't many RPGs at all that offer that amount of freedom throughout the game systems that supports hundreds if not thousands of hours of exploration. I happen to value that.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

Fallout
Fallout 2
BG
IWD
Panzer General-XXX
Jagged Alliance 2
XCOM
Master of Orion 2-XXXX
Temple of Elemental Evil

edit: went back and put XXXX by the ones that are not actually RPG's, did not read the thread title carefully enough the first time...not sure about XCOM, but if the OP included Jagged Alliance then I don't see why not XCOM