Hello little people that populate these forums.

I am on a quest you might say.... a quest to cure myself of my boredom, a hard mission to say the very least that taxes both the mind, body and soul. I seek the greatest RPGs to try my hands with. Long have I searched for such games, I traveled to the top of the highest peaks to consult with the wise man that did dwell there... and he told me.... "Within twilight of the full moon, when the sky is dark but the fires of the stars pierces through the night... that is where you shall find the game you seek."

Sadly, I have no idea where that is exactly.... basically, I want to play the RPG games, the older types that I most likely never got a chance to play growing up. Possibly ones that focus on storyline and different options that you're character can choose..... and yes, I've played all the Elder Scrolls games, old and new. So, tell me if you guys know of any old games that fit what I want and I'll see if I can get my greedy little hands on them.

Basically, any square soft games that came out on the SNES.

Betrayal at Krondor

Diablo 2

Might and Magic games

Baldur's Gate series

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizardry_8 if ya into old-school dungeon crawling team based RPG with modern graphic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_2 for some awesome clickfest RPG. Mod like Median XL or Eastern Sun for overhaul mod of Diablo 2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex for the best overall cyberpunk/action rpg. Pick up the http://thenamelessmod.com/editors_choice/ after playing Deus Ex 4 or 5 time as it is its own game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neverwinter_Nights and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neverwinter_Nights_2 for an RPG based on Dungeons & Dragons / Forgotten Realms. If ya get Neverwinter Nights 2, get the expansion, Mask of the Betrayer; overall decent theme, choice and consequences, and decent character.

Fallout 1 and 2 - No need for explanation other then its one of the RPG if we are talking about the RPG of the past.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcanum:_Of_Steamworks_and_Magick_Obscura - Same guy that made Fallout 1 made this; think of it as DnD/steampunk version of Fallout.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic 1 and 2 - RPG of Star Wars; great story many choices here and there.

And the NES. They released a few on that as well.

Planescape torment for story.
Fallout (2) may be what your fter aswell.

Also a gme released last year, alpha protocol did choice and consiquence really well. Story not sp much. Cant say much about gameplay choice, I always go stealth.

There can be only one answer: Arcanum

Ok, maybe not the only one, but certainly a contender for the top spot. It took me years to get around to playing it, but when I did... it blew me away. The same depth of character choice and storyline as the first two Fallouts, but transplanted into an entirely original, incredibly well-realised steampunk world where magic and technology are at war with each other (or at least exist in uneasy peace.) You end up feeling like you play a real character, rather than bashing stats together for the best effect, and many situations (including the final confrontation) can be decided entirely through philosophical discourse, instead of violence or fetching random McGuffins.

Planescape: Torment. As always, should be your first choice.

Then Baldur's Gate series. 1 is more open world with very old school classy playstyle. 2 is KotOR type exploration with very very very good and solid consistant storyline.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodline. The ending is near rush imo, too much combat in there. Otherwise, it's full of great goth punk interactions.

The Betrayal of Kondor: Story intense, enough say.

Darklands: You'll feel like going back on tabletop D&D playing this game, simply jewel

Fallout 1 and 2: One of the greatest classy sandbox game, you can finish both without a single fight.

Another recommendation for Planescape Torment. http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/planescape_torment One of the best stories in RPGs. Shame the combat is kinda bad, the dialogue and the setting is really what keeps this game going. Luckily it's very focused on dialogue and not so much on combat.

I would reccomend Fallout 2, if you can deal with the battle system.

Quest for the Rings, for the Magnavox Odyssey.

Here's a lesser known one. Not bad, though the level scaling is a bit annoying at times. Based on a book. I enjoyed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAeqHiRKuhw

Oh yeah, check out Vagrant Story too. And Final Fantasy Tactics. Also, Tactics Ogre.

Playing Arcanum right now, got a halfling char going, he has a gun but can't hit anything, got my half-ogre pal killed; killed a wise woman who was outside of the first village for her 2500 gold before leaving; and now I'm learning why I shouldn't rush going into the east side of the continent and I'm throwing Molotov cocktails at everything I can.

Temple of Elemental Evil by Troika. The voice acting is really questionable but if you can get past that it's a very solid game that offers alot of freedom. Likewise I'd second the recommendation of VTM: Bloodlines. The day Troika went out of business was a sad day for gaming.

never winter nights 2 platinum edition and the witcher are pretty cheap on steam right now.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I will now retire to my man-cave and dwell in nerdy bliss for many a night.

If we're talking story and character development, I personally enjoyed nothing more than the Kingdom Hearts series. Closely followed by Final Fantasy VII (actually FFVII and KH are constantly dueling for the top spot in my books. CC set a pretty high standard which BBS didn't quite reach. We'll see how 3D does... But the first 2 KH games blew me away) Then of course, we have FFXIII and FFX tied for third.

Lost Odyssey and Xenosaga were pretty good too. Then again you could play Mass Effect...

I've never really considered Mass Effect 1 and 2 proper RPG games...... (STOP, DON'T SHOOT, OH GOD! LET ME EXPLAIN!)

Yes, their great games, the combat's great, the graphics great, there are multiple choices here and there, the voice acting great, the musics great.... storylines great....... but here's the thing, I don't consider them proper RPGs. Mass Effect games are more like 'playing' a movie.

'RPGs you should play' should be a sticky thread.

This thread has finally inspired me to buy Arcanum. I've seen the name thrown around here for ages now, always with many an accolade. And I know I'll enjoy the type of game, as Fallout 2 is a favorite of mine. Now I'm excited.

Indeed it should be, where are the mods? They must be summoned to make this happen.
I svck at this game and I'm LOVING it, duded, the characters are great, its old but really an immersive game. Get it, you won't regret it, I'm getting some of the other games recommended here, their going to provide me with a great deal of entertainment.

Arcanum is pretty much the "real" Fallout 3. I went tech the first time I played, which I enjoyed more than magic. I did rifles and grenades like I tended to play in Fallout, but as the game went on I regretted not getting more into Mechanical (as I recall, it's been a long time).

I think I have played the majority of games named above, but I would recommend NWN2 if you want something RPGish, with the mod to improve the AI. There is an online character builder here: http://nwn2db.com/

[Edited a suggestion that might have been against board policy if they are feeling strict]

How aren't they roleplaying games? You create the character you want to play. More of an RPG than a lot of old school RPGs. [censored], I mean a game like Chrono Trigger, it is a great game, but you have completely defined characters with almost no customization options on a per character basis. It has JRPG mechanics, but when I think RPG, I think building characters (determining stat growths, what abilities to learn or equip, etc). In Mass Effect, you build your character the way you want, and in at least the original, you could build your squadies the way you wanted. Sure, ME2 has less options for squadmates, but I think ME3 may be adding some of those options back.

Not really, in the end you 'are' commander Shepard, you just have the choice to play him as either a complete [censored] or a shining angel of humanity, but you are, like it or not, commander Shepard; and no matter what you want him to do, he's going to 'complete his mission'. You can't make commander Shepard into anything other then a human, you can't make him try to stop his mission... so on and so fourth, it just comes down to the game feeling 'confined' and set on one path storyline-wise. On the bright side, that set storyline is a work of art, but even so, it doesn't classify as a proper RPG to me.