What is the best part of an RPG; beginning, middle, or end?

[Iznaliu]

Discuss the topic in the title:

Definitions:

• Beginning, The first part of an RPG, where you get to grips with the game's world and mechanics and are fairly low-powered, taking out menial enemies; clothing is little more than a rag and weapons are little more than a stick
• Middle: The core of most RPGs; most gameplay takes place here. Most sidequests and side plots also take place here
• End: The final confrontation. By this point your PC/party is a veritable weapon, but (un)fortunately the antagonist often is one too.

I prefer the beginning for the sense of discovery, exploration it offers, despite often bland itemisation and gameplay

 

[Valky]

Well, the whole entire game if it's any good, I'd hope.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

The beginning can be the best, if it's balanced in a way that introduces a dangerous world, your party/character as very weak and having to survive the early hardships. The middle is great as this is when your character design decisions start bearing fruit, you hit your groove and start to accomplish some things and see your progression. The ending should even be more difficult for a few reasons. A) Not many people will make it that far anyway since not many people play games the whole way through, thus those that do play that far should be challenged, and B) even though your party or character is increasing greatly in power, there should be very difficult, huge challenges that even make your strong characters look a bit weaker in comparison. I'm also in favor of the end boss being ridiculously tough, perhaps an optional, hardcore last area dungeon and overall higher rate of challenge than the rest of the game (for reasons previously mentioned.)

 

[2house2fly]

I don't tend to like the beginning so much because all the new systems and mechanics can be a bit overwhelming. I'll say middle, where you're getting the hang of how it all works, gaining levels at a decent pace and unlocking new powers/skills, seeing noticeable improvements in how you do at the combat.

The end is often balanced for a mid-high level player, but who doesn't do sidequests until they hit the level cap? Generally end bosses get steamrolled and that can be a bit disappointing. Witcher 3, to pick a recent example, was atrocious for this. That was the final boss??

 

[octavius]

Depends on the game.
Some game start slowly with very few options.
Some games drag on far too long.
Some games save the best to the end.

 

[Neanderthal]

High points can come anywhere in a game, for instance talkin wi Deionarra at her tomb in mortuary were a strong hook for me when I first played Torment but so were finding me own tomb an speakin wi Ravel etc. Used to be that Obsidian did this well, crafted high points that'd hook you into game, confronting Atris in the Sith Lords, findin first Silver Shard in NWN2 an guessin what were goin down from manuals intro story, secret mission for Raziel at beginnin o Alpha Protocol, remains o tenth legion in Dungeon Siege 3, yadda, yadda.

 

[Jason Liang]

*Chateau Irenicus
*Homlett
*Candlekeep
*Shrouded Hills
*Arroyo
*Teron

Most RPGs are garbage at the beginning dude.

 

[Carrion]

Quite often cRPGs have the best balance near the start, once you've got past all the initial tutorials and are left on your own for the first time. In those early stages money usually still matters, and winning a battle is more satisfying when you still feel like a scrub. In newer games this aspect is usually lost well before you reach the half-way point, and older RPGs rarely hold up all the way until the end either.

On the other hand the best content is usually located around mid-game, once you've got a full party and a larger number of different spells and abilities to choose from, encounters become more varied, quests start to become more involving and the game stops holding your hand for good. This should be the best part, because a weak start or ending is something you can live with, but if your middle part sucks, your game sucks too.

Endgame is something that almost always feels either rushed or unfinished, and it's understandable why it's sitting at 0 votes at this point. There are some RPGs with very satisfying endings and interesting endgame sequences, but I can't think of a single game off the top of my head where it'd be the strongest part of the game.

 

[Starwars]

Personally, I tend to like the beginnings of stories the most, when the mystery is still alive and well. Well, that's excluding the actual tutorial parts. Gameplay-wise, I guess more the middle levels (huge generalization here of course) when system tend to get going a bit.

 

[V_K]

Some games save the best to the end.

Can you name a few? I can only think of Dragonfall.

 

[octavius]

Some games save the best to the end.

Can you name a few? I can only think of Dragonfall.

Many of the Gold Box games, especially Gateway to the Savage Frontier.

 

[Luckmann]

Depends entirely on the RPG. I would say usually the beginning is the best, but a few CRPG:s have redeeming endings. For example, I think that Arcanum is an example of a game with a relatively weak start, but that then takes you for a real good ride, sharply drops off, and then has a stellar end. And I'd say that Baldur's Gate is a good example of something with a somewhat meh beginning and end, but with a really strong middle - even though I think that the game is great throughout; I'm only speaking comparatively, here.

But in most cases, it's the intrigue of the start, what's going on, what is happening, finding the clues, piecing things together, having the story unfold, that really grips you. Torment is a good example of this, but there's far worse CRPG:s (that some would not even call RPG:s) that has something of this, such as Mass Effect 1. The strength of Planescape: Torment, imo, is that it manages to keep this feeling up throughout most of the game, but it's definitely strongest in the beginning.

This is probably also why so many Torment enthusiasts are disappointed in how you have so much of the premise and narrative hoisted upon you before the game even starts in Tides of Numenera; even promotional material reveals more than you learn in the first 20 minutes of the game, and you get a lore-dump straight out of the box, too.

But yeah, I voted for the beginning, because more often than not, it's true.

 

[Jason Liang]

It's only because codexers have a hard-on for sandbox/ quasi-sandbox rpgs like Arcanum, Fallout, etc... which have no story and no polished end game.

Actually for me Dragonfall was awesome throughout UNTIL the end (last mission).

I can think of several NWN modules that save the best for the end:

The Prophet, part III
Cave of Songs
A Dance with Rogues, part 2 (the last dungeon is the best dungeon in the whole series)
Crimson Tides of Tethyr

RPGs need to actually have a good story to land the ending. Most do not have good stories.

 

[Iznaliu]

est, but a few CRPG:s have redeeming endings. For example, I think that Arcanum is an example of a game with a relatively weak start, but that then takes you for a real good ride, sharply drops off, and then has a stellar end. And I'd say that Baldur's Gate is a good example of something with a somewhat meh beginning and end, but with a really strong middle - even though I think that the game is great throughout; I'm only speaking comparatively, here.

But in most cases, it's the intrigue of the start, what's going on, what is happening, finding the clues, piecing things together, having the story unfold, that really grips you. Torment is a good example of this, but there's far worse CRPG:s (that some would not even call RPG:s) that has something of this, such as Mass Effect 1. The strength of Planescape: Torment, imo, is that it manages to keep this feeling up throughout most of the game, but it's definitely strongest in the beginning.

This is probably also why so many Torment enthusiasts are disappointed in how you have so much of the premise and narrative hoised upon you before the game even starts in Tides of Numenera; even promotional material reveals more than you learn in the first 20 minutes of the game, and you get a lore-dump straight out of the box, too.

But yeah, I voted for the beginning, because more often than not, it's true.

Finally something that I agree with.

 

[V_K]

Actually for me Dragonfall was awesome throughout UNTIL the end (last mission).

It had great atmosphere, you could really feel that you were going in way over your head - it might not have been very dangerous in practice, but it felt that way, something that most games fail at. I also liked the ton of things you could do in that dungeon - listen in on the guards, throw a grenade on a lower level, put the spiders up against the lizards, do something (gas? I don't remember what exactly) with the vents etc. Compared to that, Hong Kong's final levels were a real letdown.

 

[Jimmious]

Unfortunately the beginning is usually the best part because it's easier to "balance". Make it feel right, the enemies will be hard enough and you will actually have to manage with limited resources and skills.
Later , in most games, you just have everything and it is kind of harder for the devs to make it work well

 

[Jason Liang]

A lot of you are confusing beginning with middle.

 

[Monstrous Bat]

Usually the pre-beginning, when I would read the manual and fantasize about how the game would play like.

They rarely live up to my expectations.

 

[laclongquan]

Lionheart is excellent at the beginning and middle.

Fallout New Vegas is excellent at low level, though tis' great at late game high level as well.

Best at the end? Neverwinter Nights 2 OC. You can test your high level characters. You can build the topmost equipments. You can finally complete your Crossroad Keeps and watch money rolling in just to watch money rolling in. Of course now you have money buy back your pawned items from the Keep's merchants. The middle game is great, what with the Trial's investigation and all. The beginning is a bit worse in comparision.

Late game Fallout Tactics introduce Gauss weaponry, which make your initial characters's Small Gun skill of use once again. Also drive by shootings at the Behemoths.

It depend on the games.

 

[eXalted]

A Dance with Rogues, part 2 (the last dungeon is the best dungeon in the whole series)

Which dungeon do you have in mind?

 

[markec]

To me the beginning is often the best. Scavenging for anything of value, equipping first things you find no matter how shitty they are, getting your first decent piece of equipment feels like finding the Holy Grail, running away from tough enemies and later getting that feeling of satisfaction when overcoming them, world is still a unknown place filled with mysteries where you dont know what dangers waits you around the corner.

 

[Jason Liang]

A Dance with Rogues, part 2 (the last dungeon is the best dungeon in the whole series)

Which dungeon do you have in mind?

The prison.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

To me the beginning is often the best. Scavenging for anything of value, equipping first things you find no matter how shitty they are, getting your first decent piece of equipment feels like finding the Holy Grail, running away from tough enemies and later getting that feeling of satisfaction when overcoming them, world is still a unknown place filled with mysteries where you dont know what dangers waits you around the corner.

You have just described item scarcity. When items and resources are scarce, everything has so much more value. I'm not sure why very few games keep this going throughout the game. It can add a lot to setting and feels.

 

[Darth Roxor]

the uninstall button

 

[Sigourn]

Middle.

Generally the beginning treats you like a moron, or it isn't particularly exciting. The few games I consider are an exception to this also have a very exciting middle part, so I'd have to go with Middle.