Can anyone recomend any short rpgs

[Original Alear]

One more thing. I impulse bought "luminous arc" a while back because my local game store was having a 2 for one DS game sale and i wanted to get pokemon platinum. Is that game good and short?

I played a few chapters of luminous arc, and personally thought it was pretty bad. I don't know how long it is. If you already bought it, I would play it yourself and see what you think.

[eclipse]

I played a few chapters of luminous arc, and personally thought it was pretty bad. I don't know how long it is. If you already bought it, I would play it yourself and see what you think.

The story doesn't really pick up until well after the midway point. There's also some. . .questionable decisions made in the writing, which are worth of a facepalm. But I've seen worse.

[Zera]

Maybe you'll like Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. It's about 30 hours long (long load screens and a bit grindy near the end), but it's has unique and fun puzzle/RPG gameplay with addictive multiplayer. It's on DS and XBLA, but the XBLA version has slightly more balanced gameplay, online stuff, and you don't have to buy another copy for full local multiplayer.

Edited July 28, 2016 by Zera

[Original Alear]

The story doesn't really pick up until well after the midway point. There's also some. . .questionable decisions made in the writing, which are worth of a facepalm. But I've seen worse.

Ya ya I wouldn't call it spectral forces genesis level bad :P

The main thing about the game itself is that I don't remember being that impressed with it, and thinking the strategy was pretty rote.

[sirmola]

Maybe you'll like Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. It's about 30 hours long (long load screens and a bit grindy near the end), but it's has unique and fun puzzle/RPG gameplay with addictive multiplayer. It's on DS and XBLA, but the XBLA version has slightly more balanced gameplay, online stuff, and you don't have to buy another copy for full local multiplayer.

Plus DS multiplayer is dead

Edited July 29, 2016 by sirmola

[eclipse]

Ya ya I wouldn't call it spectral forces genesis level bad :P

The main thing about the game itself is that I don't remember being that impressed with it, and thinking the strategy was pretty rote.

The worst story I've seen, by a mile, was Conception 2. Hell, Spectral Force Genesis looks like a well-written game compared to that!

Strategy gets weird a few times in Luminous Arc. I have LOTS of issues with the original LA, but I don't think they'll be hugely relevant unless TC goes for a max-everything run.

[Original Alear]

The worst story I've seen, by a mile, was Conception 2. Hell, Spectral Force Genesis looks like a well-written game compared to that!

Strategy gets weird a few times in Luminous Arc. I have LOTS of issues with the original LA, but I don't think they'll be hugely relevant unless TC goes for a max-everything run.

While I don't like SFG's story much, I don't really think of it as an exquisitely bad story. I just like mentioning it when I see you around because you're the only person I know who has ever played that game.

The game is sort of memorable to me more because it felt like it should be at least decent at first, but then ended up lacking in a lot of areas (many rpgs end up with samey feeling battles, but spectral forces was particularly bad about that).

[Parrhesia]

Bastion and Transistor are going to be two of the most important five-hour blocks of your life.

[Zera]

I got one - Pandora's Tower. It's roughly 20 hours long so it's not short-short, but it's more akin to a Zelda game, and it's got unique story and gameplay mechanics that blend perfectly. But avoid the NA retail version, as it contains a nasty glitch.

[Reality]

We're probbably going to have to make another "what is an rpg?" threa, we can't keep lumping in metroidvanias and even puzzle platforming games just because of minor implementation of a level up system or a strong focus on story. Anyway, I think the OP is asking for a very conservative type of RPG, with menuing and such.

Anyway, as far as the nintendo handhelds go. I think some nice games that haven't been mentiond much are the Etrian Odyssey series (1-3 on Original Ds, 4-5 and remakes of 1 and 2 on the 3DS.) The main problem is that they stretch your idea of short, other than 3 due to its unbalanced player options. Additionally, the games present themselves as dungeon crawlers and can be very disorienting or even difficult if you don't play them a little methodically.

I played Bravely Default, but I disliked it enough to prevent me from picking up bravely second. I don't really like the art direction and I feel like the giving up or taking turns mechanic leads t every boss devolving into a damage race, leading you not to bother with non-glass cannon classes or healers.

Valykrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume is a decent title for the original DS. It's kind of an SRPG due to its grid based combat, but rather short, can be replayed due to the branching story. I don't like recomending it, (even though I recommended the series as a whole earlier on the strength of the original and slimeria). You can kind of get a sense of the battle mechanics in the other games, but the game is carried by its story since the gameplay is a little half baked. The problem lies in standard battles being fairly easy, but having "optional" goals... you can get through the story quickly if you meet the optional goals (usually stuff like inflicting overkill damage on low health enemies), but if you fail an optional goal, you trigger a seconadary battle with extreme difficulty. It sounds interesting on paper, but inpractice, it means that the game has no difficulty curve and is either boring the whole way through or frustrating with no middle ground between the two.

I think I'll give the GBA Megaman battle network series an extra plug (someone brought it up before). You may have seen that the combat takes place on a grid and that you have to dodge enemy shots while lining yourself up and equipping combinations of chips (cards) to attack. It can look input/action heavy, but honestly in my experience the games give you a lot of leeway since you can buffer inputs and enemy projectiles mostly travel slowly, it isn't particualarly more actiony than getting in position in live a live.

[Topaz Light]

Feel free to ignore this if you've played the game before, but EarthBound Beginnings/Mother 1 is positively bite-sized by RPG standards if you know what to do, or if you're playing this patch that fixes the wonky difficulty curve and greatly mitigates the amount of grinding required to finish the game.

[Original Alear]

You may have seen that the combat takes place on a grid and that you have to dodge enemy shots while lining yourself up and equipping combinations of chips (cards) to attack. It can look input/action heavy, but honestly in my experience the games give you a lot of leeway since you can buffer inputs and enemy projectiles mostly travel slowly, it isn't particualarly more actiony than getting in position in live a live.

Ya, I certainly have to disagree with that. Megaman Battle Network (I played 1 and 2) doesn't stand out to me as the toughest of RPGs with real-time elements, but it definitely requires more action than live a live, where enemies don't take actions except when you take yours. I actually died semi-regularly in battle network when coming up against new bosses because I had to learn attacks, etc. The only time you're gonna die from real time in live a live is like, cube's chapter (and that part's much easier than most stuff in battle network). Some bosses in battle network are even fairly hard to land hits on if you don't have decent reflexes, and sirmola indicated he mostly doesn't like them. Battle Network 2 will even throw tougher versions of boss respawns at you in random battles in certain areas - hope you saved if you had troubles with boss X, Y or Z!

I also would not recommend EO for someone looking for RPGs around 20-25 hours, at least not the more recent ones (don't remember how long the early ones took). Not even just the main story. I'd say EOU: Millenial Girl is something like 40 hours, which sirmola said is too long. Chrono Trigger and Mother 3, which he listed as "about the right length" are substantially shorter. Since the topic title specifies short...

I do love EO though.

[Zera]

Another recommendation I've got is Brave Fencer Musashi for PS1.

[Original Alear]

Another recommendation I've got is Brave Fencer Musashi for PS1.

Definitely an action RPG, with the RPG elements being relatively minor. It is short though, and it's a great game.

[Busterman64]

Mostly that comes to my mind is Golden Sun. More so the first game than the second, but that's because of length since both are pretty fun.

It's not too hard to pick up and if you're not going 100%, it's not gonna hurt you too much(except maybe skipping over Djinn, which may make things a bit harder later on and if you want to transfer stuff over to the second game later).

There's also Sonic Chronicles Dark Brotherhood, buuut...I'm sure you want "good" short rpgs(that game is...ok... and a bit hit & miss). ;3

[Topaz Light]

Honestly Live-A-Live's combat isn't actually action-based at all. It can sorta give the illusion of being action-based due to how it doesn't tell you about technique charge times, or movement limits per turn, but it's all strictly governed by a turn-style, non-real-time system.

[Original Alear]

Honestly Live-A-Live's combat isn't actually action-based at all. It can sorta give the illusion of being action-based due to how it doesn't tell you about technique charge times, or movement limits per turn, but it's all strictly governed by a turn-style, non-real-time system.

When I said there were "real time" elements, I meant like (cube chapter spoilers)

Not getting caught by the behemoth when it escapes on the spaceship. I guess Oboro's chapter is another one that has some.

Edited August 7, 2016 by HELP

[sirmola]

We're probbably going to have to make another "what is an rpg?" threa, we can't keep lumping in metroidvanias and even puzzle platforming games just because of minor implementation of a level up system or a strong focus on story. Anyway, I think the OP is asking for a very conservative type of RPG, with menuing and such.

I have to agree with this, lots of the recomendations in this thread have WAY too many real time elements for me to enjoy.

Feel free to ignore this if you've played the game before, but EarthBound Beginnings/Mother 1 is positively bite-sized by RPG standards if you know what to do, or if you're playing this patch that fixes the wonky difficulty curve and greatly mitigates the amount of grinding required to finish the game.

Played that the first half already (using tomato's translation patch of mother 1+2, which includes an "easy Ring") I found that it got too repetetive even with the grinding removed. NES rpgs have a habbit of aging poorly.

Honestly Live-A-Live's combat isn't actually action-based at all. It can sorta give the illusion of being action-based due to how it doesn't tell you about technique charge times, or movement limits per turn, but it's all strictly governed by a turn-style, non-real-time system.

I played all the starting scenarios of live-A-Live exept the mecha one, then stoped playing during it, because i could not for the life of me figure uot who to talk to to advance the plot, even using a walkthrough. May try again someday, because the modular nature makes it easy to pick up halfway through.

Mostly that comes to my mind is Golden Sun. More so the first game than the second, but that's because of length since both are pretty fun.

It's not too hard to pick up and if you're not going 100%, it's not gonna hurt you too much(except maybe skipping over Djinn, which may make things a bit harder later on and if you want to transfer stuff over to the second game later).

There's also Sonic Chronicles Dark Brotherhood, buuut...I'm sure you want "good" short rpgs(that game is...ok... and a bit hit & miss). ;3

Golden son was the first RPG i played, and i still have a soft spot for it (iv'e played the first 2 games like 10 times each, and the third once or twice.

As for sonic chronicles, i was thinking of getting it. And then i read a LP on something awful, which convinced me that it was NOT my cup of tea.

Edited August 7, 2016 by sirmola

[Lady Sansa]

Suikoden is the best game of all time and can be 100%ed in like 10 hours.

[TempestStorm]

Shining Force and Shining Force II (both Genesis games available on pc) are what I'd recommend. SFI is mostly slowed down by the inventory (have to keep moving/selling items for space) but II doesn't have that issue (yet is longer).

Also I played Spectral Force Genesis too :P

I don't recommend the gba port of SF.