Can someone recommend a home console for me?

[Fryer]

Throughout my life I was never much of a gamer; the only consoles I have owned were GBA, Wii, and a 3DS. For the handhelds, I only really played RPGs like Pokemon, FF, and Fire Emblem and for the Wii, platformers like Mario, Sonic, Megaman, and DK. I never really got into multiplayer games and almost exclusively played by myself (unless a buddy wanted to trade Pokemon). I was thinking of getting a non-Nintendo home console but I legitimately do not know where to start. The games that interest me the most are GTA (played this on Android and had fun killing people) and Persona (not foreign to JRPGs). No other titles catch my interest though that pretty much stems from my limited experience with non-Nintendo games. Or would it be best to get the Switch? If so, I will just wait for the consoles library to expand as I lack an interest in the current titles.

[DragonLord]

I'd say PS4 is the safest bet. They tend to get many great exclusives both first and third party (like Persona as you mentioned). Of course you'll be getting all the latest multiplatform releases too.

Edited June 11, 2017 by DragonLord

[thr0w4w4y10120]

You can always join the no shame "I bought the console for one game" crew and get the PS4 :P. Tbh I remember I only bought the Wii U to play Sm4sh and I only bought the Wii to play Brawl.

To soothe your conscience, PS4 also gets kingdom hearts, FFXV and a Disgaea(?) game.

[Fryer]

2 minutes ago, purasle said:

You can always join the no shame "I bought the console for one game" crew and get the PS4 :P. Tbh I remember I only bought the Wii U to play Sm4sh and I only bought the Wii to play Brawl.

To soothe your conscience, PS4 also gets kingdom hearts, FFXV and a Disgaea(?) game.

Yeah, deep down I was leaning towards PS4. I will buy a Switch the day Pokemon and Fire Emblem titles get announced. E3 is around the corner...

[thr0w4w4y10120]

Same. Pokemon (most handhelds), Fire Emblem (3ds) and Smash (N64, GC, Wii, Wii U) are the usual reasons I get Nintendo consoles.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

You can find PS3s for cheap. New games aren't coming out for it, but there's a massive library already there. Infamous, Uncharted, sequels to lots of PS2 classic games like God of War and Ratchet & Clank. HD Remasters. PS4 is two and a half years old and still hasn't convince me to move on, and Persona 5 runs well on PS3 too. I do have Nintendo Switch and like it, but the long term prospects of good games is a huge question mark right now while we wait for this E3.

[sirmola]

Or you can just hdmi your laptop to a TV, buy some steam or gog games and an xbox controller, and call it a day. Its what i do (only I dom't bother with the tv). Most xbone and ps4 games get pc ports. I get all the on-mobile gaming I want out of a 4 year old laptop (pay no atention to the people who say that all pc gammers must buy a superrig and spend hours tinkering with settings to get anything to work). Steam's summer sale will start in a week or so, and GOG's summer sale has already started. Buy some classics for 2 bucks each.

Edited June 12, 2017 by sirmola

[Nobody]

Can't go wrong with a PS4, really. This year alone it got Resident Evil 7, Nioh, Nier Automata, Persona 5, Tales of Berseria (all of which I played and enjoyed), plus Horizon Zero Dawn, Yazuka Zero, Gravity Rush 2, among others. It also has many great games released on past years already. If you get a PS4, you will not lack games to play.

Since you like Final Fantasy, what about trying FFXV as well? I really liked it.

Edited June 12, 2017 by Nobody

[SullyMcGully]

Poor XBOX. All it ever really got was Halo 5, and that didn't turn out very well at all. My advice would be to stay a generation, maybe even a few generations behind. You can get a used PS2 for $20 through the right avenues, and while it isn't the strongest console ever, back in its day it was the best thing they had and people had lots of fun with it. Just because the technology is outdated doesn't mean the games aren't still fun to play.

My recommendations would be: 

Wii: You've already got one. There were a few good RPGs that came out on the Wii (Xenoblade Chronicles and Tales of Graces come to mind), but for just about $15 you can get a Gamecube memory card and controller, which gives you access to many of the greatest Nintendo games ever made as well as a fair amount of excellent RPGs. Now getting the actual games can be a little bit costly, but with a bit of luck, you can find some golden options for a low price.

Playstation 2: This console is cheap, easy to find, and has a TON of games, even without counting in reverse compatibility with the PS1. You mentioned liking Final Fantasy? Every Final Fantasy game from 5 to 12 is available, in some way, on the PS2, not mentioning Tactics, Vagrant Story, and just about every other great RPG that came out from 1996 to 2006.

Wii U: This is a weird one, but bear with me. With the rising popularity of the Switch and the diminished interest in the Wii U, I'd estimate that the price on Wii U's and their games will drop quite a bit over the next few years. Of course, with its limited library, there's still not much incentive to buy one. Well, except for the biggest Virtual Console collection of any Nintendo System. Counting in reverse compatibility with the Wii, that means the Wii U can play (almost) any Nintendo game from any system except for the Gamecube and the 3DS. It also has Breath of the Wild, which pretty much doubles whatever value it used to have. So if you're a big-time Nintendo fan, this system is kind of a must-have.

If you need something new, the PS4 is probably the best as things are now. However, with the Switch gaining popularity, there's a lot of potential that in the future, the PS4 will be getting less exclusives and have to share some of it's titles with the Switch. Being able to play console games on the go is not something to be trifled with, and it is well-worth the trade-off with quality. Here's to hoping that Final Fantasy 7 Remake I've been anticipating for the past several years gets a Switch port. 

 

[Fryer]

43 minutes ago, SullyMcGully said:

 

Playstation 2: This console is cheap, easy to find, and has a TON of games, even without counting in reverse compatibility with the PS1. You mentioned liking Final Fantasy? Every Final Fantasy game from 5 to 12 is available, in some way, on the PS2, not mentioning Tactics, Vagrant Story, and just about every other great RPG that came out from 1996 to 2006.

As a matter of fact, I do have a PS2 slim. The reason I never brought it up was due to my parents buying me kiddie games (i.e. Spongebob) as a child; the only decent titles I had were the Megaman Anniversary collection and Command Mission games.

I am thinking of reusing my PS2 but I never had a memory card. Does every game need their own memory card? Does the storage matter? If I bought a used memory card, will it work for my games?  And so forth... Anyways, I am thinking of buying some JRPGs for the system.

Edited June 12, 2017 by Fryer

[Sånıc Bÿm]

19 minutes ago, Fryer said:

Does every game need their own memory card? Does the storage matter? If I bought a used memory card, will it work for my games?  And so forth... Anyways, I am thinking of buying some JRPGs for the system.

At the very most, you need only two memory cards: one for all your PS2 games and one for all your PS1 games. And used memory cards should definitely work, as long as they are in good condition.

Edit: I forgot to mention that PS1 games need a memory card made specifically for the PS1. They will not work with PS2 memory cards!

Edited June 12, 2017 by Sånıc Bÿm
Forgot to mention something important.

[Fryer]

16 minutes ago, Sånıc Bÿm said:

At the very most, you need only two memory cards: one for all your PS2 games and one for all your PS1 games. And used memory cards should definitely work, as long as they are in good condition.

Edit: I forgot to mention that PS1 games need a memory card made specifically for the PS1. They will not work with PS2 memory cards!

Sweet, I just got done ordering a memory card and a new controller in addition to a copy of Final Fantasy 9.

[Zera]

For your PS2, you should get some classics like Katamari and Klonoa 2.

If you're gonna get one more home console, you should just count the number of games you want on each contender to decide, right?

[Anacybele]

14 hours ago, Fryer said:

I will buy a Switch the day Pokemon and Fire Emblem titles get announced. E3 is around the corner...

FE titles and a Pokemon one have been announced for the Switch though! FE Warriors, FE Switch, and Pokken Tournament are coming to it.

I recommend the Switch for sure since it has a great line up coming and already has Zelda. ^^ It's also not all that expensive at $200 for a hybrid console.

[Tuvy]

12 hours ago, SullyMcGully said:

Playstation 2: This console is cheap, easy to find, and has a TON of games, even without counting in reverse compatibility with the PS1. You mentioned liking Final Fantasy? Every Final Fantasy game from 5 to 12 is available, in some way, on the PS2, not mentioning Tactics, Vagrant Story, and just about every other great RPG that came out from 1996 to 2006.

One game is all you need

S H A D O W O F T H E C O  L O S S U S

[Arcanite]

14 hours ago, DragonLord said:

I'd say PS4 is the safest bet. They tend to get many great exclusives both first and third party (like Persona as you mentioned). Of course you'll be getting all the latest multiplatform releases too.

Seems like my work here is done then

@Fryer PS4 is the way to go!

 

Also, see if you can get a copy of Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 or 3 for your PS2
Those games take come practice but once you get the hang of it you'll see the ridiculous crap you can pull in that game heh

[austinxhensl]

pc master race

 

[Nobody]

1 hour ago, Anacybele said:

It's also not all that expensive at $200 for a hybrid console.

The switch is 300 dollars

[Anacybele]

29 minutes ago, Nobody said:

The switch is 300 dollars

Right. My bad. Not sure why I put 200. But that's still not that expensive when you think of how consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 were $600 and $400 respectively.

[Locke087]

I'll echo a lot of the sentiments here and just add that you should get a PS4 Pro not the base model a lot of your games will just run better on that console thanks to boost mode, it's worth the hundred dollars more. While it is not worth it for people who already own a PS4, those who have not bought one yet absolutely should go for the Pro.

Another option is to build a rig and go PC gaming, but looking at your interests I wouldn't recommend that as if you want to play Persona or other JRPGs they don't always come to PC. 

Fire Emblem has already been confirmed for the Switch so if you're like me you'll have to get one eventually but Nintendo Console's are more like additives they should be owned in addition to a PlayStation or a PC (or own all three in my case lol though my PC is not the most powerful thing, but it can run most things), so I recommend PlayStation first and get a Switch when it has the thing you want on it. 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Locke087

[omglmaowtf]

But does the Pro cost much more than the PS4? I won't recommend the Pro unless you have a 4K TV...

[Julizan]

If you prefer platformers and party games, then go for Nintendo consoles.
If you prefer RPGs, then go for PS2 or 3.
PS3 is a bit more expensive than the 2, but most of the games are really favorable except for the very few newer ones like Persona 5.
 

[Fryer]

I think I will just put off buying a new console for now and instead focus on replaying my PS2. I never had good times with that console since the amount of quality titles I had were limited (only had Sonic Heroes, Megaman, and a bunch of kiddie games). I intend on playing the FF games available for the system in addition to Dragon Quest 8, Persona 4, and GTA San Andreas. If I have a good time, then perhaps I will consider buying a PS4.

Edited June 12, 2017 by Fryer

[Locke087]

2 hours ago, omglmaowtf said:

But does the Pro cost much more than the PS4? I won't recommend the Pro unless you have a 4K TV...

It is only 100$ more and game run better and have more constant framerates something that way better then 4K visuals anyways.  You may not have a 4K tv now but may have one later so it's a better investment for the future and you regret buying a normal PS4 later.