this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2025
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Looking for a "classic" RPG with solid plot (Steam Deck) (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by pathief@lemmy.world to c/gaming@lemmy.world
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I've always been a sucker for RPG games. When I'm feeling down I tend to play Final Fantasy 8 or Final Fantasy 10, they're like my comfort games.

I've had a hard time finding joy in modern RPG games, they all feel very grindy and seem to have an uninteresting plot. I'm looking for something that sparks joy, so I don't have look for some ridiculous challenge like Khimari only run in FF10 or something.

Things that spark joy:

  • Being able to play on Steam Deck or at least stream from my (linux) desktop
  • Decent graphics, though pixel art is ok
  • Voice acting
  • No random encounters
  • Good plot
  • Good combat

Things that do not spark joy:

  • Too much grinding
  • DnD mechanics
  • Mandatory online requirement

Games that I really enjoyed:

  • Final Fantasy 7 through 10
  • Final Fantasy 5
  • Dragon Quest XI
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 1/2
  • South Park games
  • Stardew Valley

Games that I did not enjoy:

  • Elden Ring - I guess I just don't have the mental patience for souls games anymore.
  • Final Fantasy X-2 - great combat mechanics, horrendous plot
  • "Modern" Final Fantasy games
  • Divinity: Original Sin 2, Disco Elysium - feels too much like DnD
  • Hogwarts Legacy - It felt amazing at first but then got super repetitive
  • Persona 5 Royal - The game severely overstayed its welcome, very bloated, very repetitive dialog (the characters tell you the same information multiple times)
  • I am Setsuna - The plot resembled Final Fantasy 10 way too much, felt like I had already played that game. Didn't finish
  • Kingdom Hearts - Severe motion sickness
  • Octopath Traveler - The plot felt extremely disconnected, random encounters were annoying, I got stuck due to an underleveled party and didn't have the patience to grind it up

Thanks in advance!

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[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 3 points 5 days ago (2 children)

one of my all-time favs is an ancient one.. phantasy star II. you'll need the sega thing on steam to run it...

the story is good, graphics are very stardew valley.

the only negative aspect from your list is some minor grinding and the randomness of bumping into creatures.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Phantasy Star 4 is also very good and worth checking out, if you're going back to the early 90s

[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

i will check it out! i was not impressed with PS3 back in the day... too scripted.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 5 days ago

Yeah, it seems the general consensus is to skip 3. I wonder how the 2000 era Phantasy Star games fare (not counting PSO)

[–] pathief@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

I was definitely looking for something less ancient xD Solid suggestion, regardless.