Freeware RPGs I'm Recommending To You, Also Life · 9:03pm Jun 26th, 2014
I'm gonna talk some about what I've been up to IRL, but feel free to skip it for my game recommendations after the line break.
I don't have a stable internet connection, so I've been finding things to do offline that doesn't involve actually going outdoors. Well, I've got a huge backlog of ponyfic I want to write, but maybe later. Also did I mention I'm still not working on my thesis which I have horribly delayed upon?
So instead of making progress on my thesis like a responsible person, I spent it playing these games. Now you can play them too! Most are in the vein of turn-based JRPGs, because I'm in love with the genre.
1. Tales of the Drunken Paladin
If I was going to make a video game, this is probably what it would be like. Absolutely hilarious and pokes fun at cliches while making references left and right. Best part is most everything is interactable. A good portion of your time will be spent talking to objects. The other portion will be spent doing enjoyable sidequests well-worth doing only for the dialogue. Later character and plot development in the game is surprising but done well.
If you need some convincing, then know that your potions are literally tears and alcohol. And that when I said everything is interactable, then those people who can't resist checking every single object in the room will be pleased because I meant it.
Favorite Character: Jeffery. He loves dragons! He's a castle librarian and a side-character you meet only once in your quest, but he's seriously adorkable. The kind of character I write slash fanfiction about. Best part is you asking him about something plot-related, in the vein of all scholarly types you meet in your quest being somehow knowledgeable about said objective of your quest, but he replies "I really only know about dragons..."
2. Exit Fate
If you liked Suikoden I and II, then you'll love this. As a somewhat spiritual successor those games, Exit Fate allows you to recruit a heck lot of characters into your army. It even includes war battles that get seriously difficult if you're aiming for a good rank instead of just passing it.
It's somewhat of a cliche storm, but the characters and plot develops over time, and there are some excellent twists towards the end.
Favorite Character: Gudrun. An enemy commander and very tragic character. Anything more I say will be spoilers, so I'll just mention that her final scene is one of the few moments in the game that truly impressed me. You can see the cliche coming from a mile away, but how it's done is just heartwrenching. There's also a lengthy scene involving her backstory that appears when you bring along a certain character. I missed it when I played as there's only one chance to see that scene, but there's luckily a Let's Play that includes it. "Oh, Siegfried...."
Starts out cliche'd, but soon develops its plot over time. Characters and plot develop as you go through the arcs until you somehow find yourself invested in the story. The writing is excellent, but I have to say the minigames can get tiring at times. I had to resort to looking up the answer to a portion that had me play out a short melody because I am bloody tone deaf.
Favorite Character: Filc. A member of the Toutens, a mercenary band of non-human thieves. His eloquent way of talking and apparent intelligence marks him out pretty much immediately. His continued discussions about the signifier and the signified makes me grin and not in the least because I'm also pretty interested in semiotics, but because everyone else has little clue what he's talking about. He tries to educate them anyway. Did I mention he's a kobold that can shapeshift into anything? "FORM OF A . . . PTEROSAUR!"
Earlier work by the same producer of Exit Fate, it's not as complex as the later game (though it touches on the same themes) and still has cliches. Still pulls off twists excellently, however, and pretty soon those cliches turn out to be more interesting than you first thought.
Also has a mini-game called Hex that's pretty entertaining. Reminds me of Final Fantasy VIII's card game, especially with the excellent inclusion of face tiles that depict story characters.
Favorite Character: Saraswati. A non-essential character searching for enlightenment, which she seeks via playing the Hex minigame. Her quest chain involves finding her in various places around the world and beating her in Hex. If you manage to reach the very end, however, you'll find quite a twist! Sadly, I felt her end doesn't quite give me a feeling of closure I wanted. Still an interesting woman. "It feels like I just woke up from a dream... but I know that it was real."
5. Epic Battle Fantasy (Series)
Not really freeware, but you can play it for free online. Turn-based RPGs are a go!
Favorite Character: Lance, though it's more like because I like his sense of style and guns. His references are also what I find the most amusing. He was a villain in the first few games, but he's a character in the later games. "Take your top off!"
Dude, thank you so much for the recs! I've really been meaning to get into turn-based JRPGs; I've never in my life been much of a gamer, and it's a great genre for me to start with.
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No problem! Happy to spread the gaming. :D