Recommend an RPG....

Planescape, and Fallouts 1,2 and New Vegas.

Chris Avellone games in general, actually. So I'd throw in Arcanum as well.

Bioware games aren't far behind.

Persona3 has a bunch of subplots going on between NP Cs. They are very amusing, especially the stalker girl one.

If you don't shy away from jRPGs, Mana Khemia is also good stuff in this department. As one of a handful (two) of the Atelier spin-offs that got Englishized on portables, it also features a fun item crafting element. Which, you know, in a game about alchemists, is a must.

@metaphysician

Note how you are citing their oldest games primarily (that is pre "press a button and something awesome happens"), and giving no specifics. Their actual writing is trash. Look at some of the dialogs sometime. Yes they have made some original settings, but they aren't that interesting or original.

Also

"Knights of the Old Republic is basically the best Star Wars story outside of the original trilogy and maybe Tartakovsky's Clone Wars."

And Timothy Zahn's work, and and the sequel and... Yeah a good chunk of the SW universe has better writing than Kot OR

Really, why do people say Kot OR's writing is any good? The overall plot has only one twist that makes it interesting (it's "collect 4 plot coupons, beat big-bad so he doesn't take over the world), beyond that the characters are 2d (Wahhhh my mentor betrayed me! I don't trust anyone), outside of the nods to OT lines, the actual dialog isn't special or memorable.

edited 21st Mar '11 1:25:15 PM by deuxhero

Plus, Bioware just rips off all their plots from other sources. Like how they included Elves in Dragon Age, which automatically makes it a LOTR rip-off?

edited 21st Mar '11 2:31:18 PM by LizardBite

Yep, not even bothering to think up the basic facets of the world yourself (uh.. need something other than humans, hmm, other fantasy works have Elfs! Let's use Elfs!) is a sign of unoriginality.

edited 21st Mar '11 2:43:38 PM by deuxhero

Not that again...

Also, the plural of "elf" is "elves". Only Tolkien used "elfs".

edited 21st Mar '11 2:51:00 PM by Nyarly

That said, Dragon Age subverts and/or reconstructs most fantasy tropes to hell and back. Mass Effect does the same for sci-fi tropes. Does it really matter if the plot progression has remained largely unchanged from Bio Ware game to Bio Ware game?

"Examples please" and "Yes".

edited 21st Mar '11 3:25:26 PM by deuxhero

So basically, its 'bad writing' to use a standard plot framework, regardless of the actual contents of that framework. Gotcha.

When the framework is the plot, yes.

Kot OR really isn't anything beyond finding the 4 star maps to defeat the 2d big bad.

No, the plot of KOTOR is "Save the galaxy from the Big Bad" as the grand backdrop, with "Seek an answer to questions 'What does it mean to follow the Light side or the Dark side?', 'What is justified in the name of saving the galaxy?', and 'Can love coexist with the Force?'" You are confusing the plot of the game with the structure of the game.

""Save the galaxy from the Big Bad" as the grand backdrop, with "Seek an answer to questions 'What does it mean to follow the Light side or the Dark side?', "

Where the bloody hell did those come from? I recall no such themes.

I will never understand how Bio "I want to be a dragon" ware is considered to be good writers. Perhaps everyone else is just even more rubbish...

edited 21st Mar '11 7:06:58 PM by deuxhero

Please. Please don't start this again.

If you must, can you please at least take this to another thread? We're way off rails here...

By actually paying attention? Why do you think the game spent so much time with various teachers of the Force, of contesting viewpoints?

Sweet Jesus, I thought Tropers were better netizens. If I ever meet you in real life deuxhero, I am so going to lay you out, awesome Raidou Kuzunoha OOTS avatar or not.

Okay, back on topic. I am a huge old-school JRPG fan. I have a fair collection, and I think that the older Dragon Quest games fit the bill nicely. Dragon Quest IX (NDS) focuses on the multiplayer and you generate your party members, so it isn't very dialogue heavy. Dragon Quest VIII (PS 2) on the other hand has good characters, and the translation is solid as well. Going the hardcore direction are the the games where you need to "talk to everyone everywhere if you want to get anywhere ever": DQVII (PS 1) and VI (Super Famicom, NDS) and V (Super Famicom, NDS). Good luck finding those; it might even be worth emulating them instead.

Two more options that are really three more games: the pre-Persona 3 Persona games. While P3/4 have the social link system, the S. Link side stories are too abbreviated to feel like proper storylines or even side quests; really they're guessing games where you try to decide which responses get the best reactions. Persona 1, and Persona 2: Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment are straight up dungeon crawling RP Gs, with aggravating Persona creation mechanics but (in my wholly unhumble opinion) better characters and scenarios. P3/4 have better writing, though.

edited 22nd Mar '11 1:04:15 AM by Watashiwa

Planescape Torment The Witcher Dragon Age Mass Effect 1 and 2 Persona 3 Persona 4 Baldurs Gate Fallout Risen Dragon Quest 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9

Not The Witcher. Well, not for me anyway. I can see why someone could like it, easily enough.

Final Fantasy VI. The characters are engaging, the world is fleshed out before and after when the worldgets screwed by a clown, and the people really do like to give information which is actually helpful.

Honorable Mentions: Avernum, Baldurs Gate, Legend Of Dragoon, Golden Sun.

edited 24th Mar '11 4:06:42 PM by Aurabolt

Double square brackets activate the spoiler tags. Besides, while underexposed compared to Final Fantasy VII, isn't that a case of It Was His Sled already and not spoilerable?

First of all, thanks for the help. Good to know.

Secondly, I was of the understanding that he wanted an RPG to play, not exactly that he had played through Final Fantasy and was bored of it.