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Anonymous03/09/26, 01:10No.3941241A Beginner RPG
A thought experiment for you all /vrpg/. What game would you recommend to introduce a newcomer to the RPG genre? Could be anyone from someone just getting into gaming in general, or even a small child. A true “babby’s first,” if you will.
I would personally go with Dragon Quest IV. Being a Dragon Quest game, it features a very simple combat system, as the franchise is known for. But mainly for the first four chapters, which effectively act as a tutorial.
Chapter 1 starts you off with Ragnar, a very straightforward warrior, with Healie the healslime as your optional support party member. A newcomer will likely spend their time getting their feet wet and grinding for money and XP to buy gear.
Chapter 2 gives you three party members: Alena, another straightforward fighter but different from Ragnar since she’s more agility-focused; Kiryl the priest; and Borya the mage. This introduces the player to three very standard archetypes: the fighter, healer, and glass cannon mage. Here, the player learns party dynamics.
Chapter 3 is a weird one to point to, with Torneko being an odd archetype as a merchant, but with elements of the thief and jester. I think the main lesson from this chapter is to take initiative and go exploring, or else you’ll be stuck as a wageslave (which, to be fair, you should stay in the store early in the chapter to get decent gear).
Chapter 4 introduces Meena and Maya, two mages. I think the main lesson here is learning to change party lineups and move your supports to the back. If you don’t put the temporary party member Oojam in front, you’ll have a bad time.
Chapter 5 is where the game truly begins with your hero, and it brings everything together, allowing you to mix and match all these party members to suit your needs once you recruit them.
Are there any others you would recommend? Maybe a first action RPG or CRPG?
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Replies
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Anon03/09/26, 01:11No.3941242
Golden Sun
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Anon03/09/26, 01:15No.3941244
I would say Pokemon but that tends to just breed more Poketards who never play or think about anything else foreverSo uh, probably Lunar
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Anon03/09/26, 01:38No.3941256
DQ5, Lunar, FF7.
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Anon03/09/26, 14:44No.3941429
Give them something with excellent combat focus > story to test they actually enjoy the genre and aren't just an anime dweeb storyfaggot. DQ9, SMT3, FF Tactics all good starts.
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Anon03/09/26, 17:14No.3941491
Purist turn-based JRPG:
>Golden Sun
>Final Fantasy (one of the remakes, definitely NOT the NES version)
>Dragon Quest 11, maybe 8
Those are all extremely entry-tier in difficulty and have a greater focus on story that most people enjoy. Very casual-friendly.ATB/other battle systems:
>Chrono Trigger
>Tales of Symphonia
>Final Fantasy 7
>Paper Mario (especially if they are more of a Mario fan in general)
These are on "best game ever" lists for good reason. Tons of people who hate RPGs still love these, mostly for the story and well-implemented battle/equipment systems. They're easy to pick up and very engaging.WRPG:
>KotOR (if they like Star Wars)
>Dragon Age: Origins
>Baldurs Gate 3
WRPGs can all be pretty different, but usually are some kind of D&D/d20 system. These three are really good representations of what you'll find while also being pretty casual-friendly and cinematic.If someone played through any of those, I would expect them to be open to other more difficult or niche games later. I wouldn't start someone with a blobber or whatever. I didn't put Pokemon on the list because it's more of a monster-catching game and battle system isn't very similar to most RPGs. So Pokemon is more like a gateway to the above stuff I listed in my mind.
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Anon03/14/26, 10:14No.3944778
Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy on NES. Make sure they have the maps and stuff that came with it.
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Anon03/14/26, 11:15No.3944795
Brogue