What's Your Favorite Aspect of an RPG?

[Neo Samurai]

Vote and explain why you chose it. If you select option 6 and 7, provide an explanation combining all of the aspects you selected.

Pretty much, for me, all of them except graphics. I could give a crap if the graphics are just 2D sprites or deformed lego figures.

A powerful storyline keeps me interested and keeps me playing.

A great battle system does the same, I suppose.

Mini-Games are great breaks from the storyline (hell, even to advance the storyline) and can become addicting (depending on the mini-game, of course).

Great music helps tone the mood of wherever you are so you can take the storyline more seriously (it doesn't really matter if the storyline is kick-ass, but it still helps improve the feel of the game).

However, I won't say graphics that actually look like a human being (or, whatever else) are bad to have. They just aren't my main concern when playing a game.

So, what about you guys?

[Deleted]

I'm split between story/characters and gameplay/battling. I do know what I don't like is when the creator puts in fluff to just make the game longer, which happens a lot to the story and battling. I notice music a lot more now then I used to before I started making my own, too.

[Dungeon Warden]

Story line and the battle system are the two things that make or break a game for me. If the stories not interesting and the battles are boring, I get pretty tied of the whole game. I play RPGs for the story and I don't like it when the battle system gets in the way. However, if the battle system (including leveling up) is fun, I might ignore to story for a while just to level up to see what new abilities I gain. Everything else is just gravy - nice to have but they're not nessicary.

[KingSpoom]

I second dungeon warden's words.

[vespuleth]

i would third them, but i am really just about the story. because to me, everything else is just how the story is told. for example, ive read some great novels where the author wasnt really very good at writing developed fight scenes, and also some where there was alot of unneeded fluff (like accented romance). but if the stories good, the stories good.

[BloodKnight]

The gameplay makes or breaks a game for me, since I'll be playing it until the end. Even if the storyline/characters are great, bad gameplay could make me miss out.

[WarDragon]

I fourth them. If it's a good battle system i'm interested in and a good storyline then i guess its good.

[Draygone]

Storyline is somewhat important to me. I enjoy epic tales a lot, though simple tales like the ones found in the original Dragon Warrior games or the first Final Fantasy I'll enjoy just as much.

An RPG doesn't have to have puzzles or mini-games, but if it does have them, they better be well done. The mini-game should be neither boring nor tedious. None of this "sit in one spot and dodge 200 lightning bolts in a row" type of stuff that I've seen a few times lately. The puzzles don't have to be near-impossible; heck, I'll probably accept really simple puzzles if they're still good. Just as long as it's not something I have to discover by accident. It has to make sense.

The battle system has to work, and not have too many faults. FF9's battle system for example, while decent, was brought down a few points due to it's poor limit break system and the slow filling of the ATB gauge (even if you put the speed up to the fastest).

Graphics are nice, but as long as I can tell what's what, then I won't complain. Although I don't want it all to be choppy-looking, 'cause then it's distracting.

Music is very important to me. If the music isn't interesting, then I'm not interested. I'm not too picky, though. I enjoy the music of the original Dragon Warrior enough. Though maybe it's just nostalgia. Obviously, some games don't need so much of a focus on music. But most RPGs do, IMO.

[Jugem]

Storyline is probably the most important element for me, followed closely by music and battle system. Music can provide emotion, and the ability to make the player feel emotionally what is going on is the key to a great storyline. So the two kind of go hand in hand.

RPGs are also about battling enemies though, and a good battle system can really have you fighting enemies a lot more than you might otherwise. And the more you battle, the more you enjoy the rpg as a game rather than just an experience. And I think that's the key point. Some RPGs are more of an experience, while others are more of a "game." The best RPGs though usually have the best of both worlds.

[The Final Rune]

Storyline and graphics have to be the most important things in a game to me. Even a great story alone couldn't carry a fugly looking game. the other important aspect of a game would be one you don't have listed - Gameplay. The way a game is made, its ease of use and fun factor all make up gameplay for me and these factors can often make up for bad graphics - to an extent anyways.

[Neo Samurai]

Yeah. I felt there was something I was forgetting. That is very important.

And, I agree with you, Jugem. RPGs are made better by combining the elements of gameplay and the experience you have in that world. Most non-RPG games, while they can be fun, make you feel a bit limited. Most games have stages that you must complete, making you feel stuck in one place.

However, with RPGs, you're free to go almost anywhere you want. If you left a certain area, you can come back and things could have totally changed since the last time you were there, just like in real life. You make much more decisions in RPGs rather than in other games, and these decisions can decide the fate of your character. This has got to be the reason why RPGs are my favorite game genre.

[Draygone]

I just like them because their quests seem bigger/more epic than in most other games.

[raithwall]

The "a combination of some of them option" is the formula for fail in any poll. It goes without saying we have all played many games and depending on the game enjoyed one thing or another more.

I feel it should be stated at the beginning of every poll that the answer is not definitive, but more so what you lean towards the most. If the purpose of a poll is to force a decision there should not be a valve for the undecided.

lol Imagine how voting would be if we could pick some combination of all the candidates. It would accomplish nothing.

But then again, under that premise all of us are probably going to pick storyline.

Today I made my first poll and I am trying to find the answer: in regards to good poll making. Its said when you teach someone you are actually teaching yourself. I suspect that is why I am here right now.

Overall, I think this poll would've done better if instead of the combination option we could pick two or three things, but it seems everyone has come to that conclusion and worked around it.

So the real winners are Storyline and Battle.

[dailycolbert]

I put battle system, because gameplay is most important to me. I care about story a lot too, but I'd rather have a game with terrible story and good/okay gameplay (Shadow Hearts, Disgaea, etc.) over one with terrible gameplay and a good/okay story (Vagrant Story). It was only after playing the awful Vagrant Story that I came to realize this.

[Doan the Nado]

I think the whole "poll" aspect was unimportant to the original poster, so it wasn't a failure at all. The fact that it was formulated as a poll only served to signal that he was looking for others' opinions. The real value is in actually reading the comments and getting a feel for what aspects of a game are important and why.

Since I never actually answered the question, I'll do it now. Story is very important for me, as it adds that element of suspense and makes the game seem less like an entertaining waste of time and more like something that I won't regret spending a lot of time on after it's over.

However, as BK said, if the gameplay is not fun enough, the story will never even have a chance. Graphics and sound are mostly unimportant for me.

The best games have the best gameplay, hands-down. Pac-Man, Gradius, and Galaga are fun games, and they have no story at all, with sub-par graphics and poor music. Note that one simple aspect of gameplay can be enough to make a game fun and replayable: I loved the first Final Fantasy because it was interesting to pick different parties and see how leveling and battling unfolded with different groups of characters. Look at Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The story is pretty basic and cliche (collect pieces of something required to restore order to the world, destroy evil, etc.), but the gameplay was so original and awesome that it's a hell of a game.

So in my mind, it's all about gameplay. Make the game fun, and people will play it regardless. If you also make the storyline good, players will feel like they got value out of the game and spent their time wisely. If you also allow the player to influence the storyline, you have created a replayable masterpiece that will be among favorite game lists everywhere.

(Since there was no "gamplay" option, I voted "Battle System", since that is the closest choice.)

[Neo Samurai]

This is an old thread.

My opinions have changed a bit since I started this thread.

I find that I agree with Doan and BK. The fact of the matter is, no matter how deep and engaging the storyline is, you're still playing a game and if it's not fun, it might as well be a movie.

Music is still pretty important. I wouldn't put a game down if it had awesome gameplay but horrible music, but it's always nice to have good music to listen to while playing it (I love the Boss Theme of Super Mario RPG. Just got it on the Wii Virtual Console and loving every minute of it).

Graphics still aren't very important to me. I thought Doan summed that up pretty well with his classic games examples.

Wonder why I didn't add a gameplay option.