Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Well there are plenty of topics about what RPGs are best and all... but I need to add a certain detail to the question.

I'm rediculously busy, with school and show choir and weightlifting and blah blah blah. Combined with the clubs I'm involved in and writing for my local paper, I have very little time anymore for RPGs. I want to be able to finish my next one quicker, and since I won't be getting any less busy any time soon, it needs to be shorter in length.

Chrono Trigger, for instance, was just perfect. Amazing game and, while I thought it had a pretty good story, it didn't keep dragging on.

SO. Basically I need a game that I can finish sometime soon with a busy schedual. Any suggestions?

--------------------

Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

Sonny

Also worth trying are Paper Mario, Parasite Eve, and Panzer Dragoon Saga. All three are great. I don't own PDS, but I played it at a friend's house and beat it in three afternoons, maybe 15 or 16 hours.

--------------------

this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

The original Final Fantasy is not particularly long, especially if you do one of the remakes, like for GBA or PSP.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance isn't particularly long, either.

Beyond the Beyond isn't too long, as long as you use a guide to get through the puzzle dungeons of doom. As a note though, a lot of people think it's sucky (not me).

i found zelda: phantom hourglass to not be too long and was perfect to pick up complete a challenge in a dungeon and then leave without feeling cut off from the story line. FFX and X-2 are actually quite short if you know how to play em too..... plus maybe if a MGS counts you could go for the second one.

--------------------

Dear Sephiroth, you say its just an illusion... i say your mums on the game ~

Fallout and Icewind Dale are pretty short. Suikoden can also be finished pretty quickly if you don't care if you have everything (and everyone)

Radiata Stories is about 20 hours long. It's pretty good though it kind of drags in the beginning. It's an action RPG where your party members are controlled by AI but you can give them commands. Main character is one of those cocky young guys but it was ok. It's worth a try and I'm sure you could find it for really cheap online these days. Here's the profile of the game at IGN.com

--------------------

Elena Indurain

Currently Playing: Suikoden II

The Disgaea series has long stories, however, they are told in an episodic fashion, allowing you to complete only a couple battles at once, depending on your available time.

Similarly, the storyline of the .hack//G.U. series is fairly episodic in it's play, though as you progress, each "episode" takes longer and longer to complete.

If you're looking for games to play on the go, I recommend either a PSP or a DS. With either, you can suspend games in the middle of play, allowing you to stop at an instant and address another task. I have both, and while I was initially a PSP-only person, I find that I switch back and forth depending on the types of games I want to play. The only downside, as far as I'm concerned, is the lag in Final Fantasy Tactics on the PSP.

I just have a harder time getting into hand-held games. I get time to play every week, it's just not all that much. The biggest reason why I'm looking for a shorter RPG next is so that it won't stretch on and on, keeping me playing the same game for several months.

Example: I'm currently playing Xenogears. While I like the game, I've already logged 30+ hours and I'm not on the second disc yet. I'd like to be finishing my next RPG in that amount of time, seeing as it's been three months since I started playing. I feel like everything's getting dragged out, to the point that I can barely remember some of the events from the beginning of the game.

--------------------

Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

Yelanates:

Tactics Advance might not take long if you just run through it, but each battle takes at least 15-30 minutes from my experience. And you have one plot-related battle for each map symbol, and there are about 30 of them. So I'd guess that's about 30 x 20 = 600 minutes minimum, or 10 hours of gameplay. And that's if you ignore all the fetchquests, optional missions, clan turf stuff, etc..

Of course, it takes me far more time, because I try to micromanage who gets what equipment on my team, who learns what, who gets to fight when, and stuff, and I try to do every mission.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 19th December 2008 20:58

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

GMH: What do you think about the original Tactics? I'm not too big a fan of hand helds... I just can't get into them for some reason.

Also, nice to see you back.

--------------------

Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

Ahh, thanks.

You can always play FFTA on a GameCube using that GBA game adaptor or whatever it is. I know there's something that does that. Alternatively, you can emulate the game, and play it on a screen size of your choosing.

I haven't played Tactics so I can't comment on it.

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

If you're looking for good but short RPGs, I would definitely stay away from anything Tactics. FFT is still one of the best games ever made, for my money, and sure, you can take it in small doses, but once you start playing you won't want to. You'll want to massage your formations, search for treasure, do the sidequests, etc. FFTA never really clicked for me, but I never gave it much of a chance; I haven't had the chance to play TA2, either. However, I'm pretty sure that both of the Tactics Advance games will probably suck you into playing more than you want to, from what I've been told.

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN? Or perhaps buying a really good looking shirt?

I'm going to have to say that FFT is not your best bet for something short. The job point system takes forever, and although it's a great game, it's far from short. I agree with R51. If your short, you should probably stay away from anything Tactics. Although I can't comment specifically on FFTA, but every tactics game I've ever played (even outside of the FF series) has been painfully long.

--------------------

Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

Lufia: (something about Sinistrals?) is pretty good, or at least I thought, and its quite quick to finish too. I found it to be quite a fun little game =]

Can't remember what platform its on though

--------------------

*Sigh*....Times are tough

Quote (ktk3 @ 19th December 2008 20:14)

Lufia: (something about Sinistrals?) is pretty good, or at least I thought, and its quite quick to finish too. I found it to be quite a fun little game =]

Can't remember what platform its on though

You're talking about Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals for the SNES. It's pretty good, but I don't think it's short. There is a lot of extra content, and the puzzles in that game get really tricky.

In other news, Sonny 2 came out today. Check Armorgames.com for it. Best Flash RPG ever.

--------------------

this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

A good quick rpg is mario and luigi partners in time for the ds. I picked it up again a week in a half ago and just finished it yesterday so it should be a short enough game for ya. It has great gameplay and some comic relief, I definitely recommend it.

Also I agree with lazlow paper mario is quite quick. I started it and am on the sixth chapter in about 8 hours time. In addition to that I have been messing around with glitches and collecting all the secrets so you might be able to get to the same spot in a considerably small amount of time.

This post has been edited by iamanoob on 20th December 2008 05:30

- Parasite Eve
- Shadow Madness (well, its script is great)
- Wild ARMs 4
- Grandia II
- Threads of Fate

I wouldn't really say FFT is short. It can be beaten in a relatively small amount of time by rushing (I think the record's something like 13 hours and change) but that's ignoring a huge part of the fun.

This post has been edited by Shotgunnova on 3rd January 2009 07:18

--------------------

It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck can change

Very surprised I haven't heard Super Mario RPG mentioned. Compared to today's RPGs, it's damn near a mini game. It's also fun as hell, and that helps.

--------------------

Arts

Farts

Twarts

Arc: Twilight of the Spirits. Don't think it's been mentioned. Maybe a bit too long. Depends how good you are at them I guess. And I'm awful.

The only 'Short' RPG I can think of if Parasite Eve. FF4 is shorter then the others because there isn't a last world/disc you need to do for the rest of the half of the game to be at a good level for the final boss. Crono Trigger isn't too long either.

--------------------

Blah Blah Blah Tidal Wave Spam!

I just finished my second playthrough of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PS1 version), and the final timer had 21 hours on it. I'm sure if you didn't waste as much time as I did you can easily beat it in 15 or 16.

--------------------

this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

Parasite Eve 2 is a very good bet for three reasons:

1 - It's very short. Once you know how to complete the game, it can be sped through in about two hours or so if I remember rightly. This means that if you want to pick it up for a quick blast from the start, it's perfect. I remember my neighbour used to come round to my house after school and we would complete the game before tea, then complete it again afterwards. That was the 'before dinner' challenge.

2 - There is so much extra content, that if you enjoy the game, you can complete it loads of times to unlock more stuff, and still have more to get if you do another completion. Amazingly, this doesn't get boring, because each time you complete the game, you can then play through the game with the newly unlocked stuff or using different magics etc. Also the bosses are good fun, and Kyle uses a new gun each time so you can aspire to unlock it on the next time round.

3 - Even if you don't like the game, it's not time consuming in the least, so no harm done!

--------------------

Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Quote

The only 'Short' RPG I can think of if Parasite Eve. FF4 is shorter then the others because there isn't a last world/disc you need to do for the rest of the half of the game to be at a good level for the final boss. Crono Trigger isn't too long either.

I don't think CT is at all short; it's got a long and involved plot with various sidequests. Unless you're doing a New Game+ and getting one of the premature endings.

FF4 is relatively un-immersive, in my opinion (at least FFII SNES is), and makes it easy to pick up and put down.

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )