Dungeon Crawlers!

[jiji]

Most of what I would sing praise for (Icewind Dale, King's Field, Shadow Tower, DC Lodoss, Vagrant Story) have already been mentioned, so I'll throw my hat in for Metal Dungeon on Xbox. Yeah, all the reviews were crap, but I've long since learned to stop trusting reviews of dungeon crawlers. It's not extremely well-executed on the technical side, but it's a fun Wizardry clone (in SPACE) with battles that can move along really quickly (or slowly, depending on your preference). There are no random battles (major plus for me) and character customization and the venture-forth/retreat-and-upgrade cycle are just about as fun and addicting as I could ask for. After playing PSO for a bit, I realize that the character classes borrowed pretty heavily from that in abilities and looks, though with less bright colors in general. I don't know if I'd recommend it to many people other than addicts like me, but I enjoy it.

[soundwave]

Vagrant Story deserves much praise. I know tweaking/repairing weapons and items can be a a pain but the game is fun and at the time was amazing to look at. The story is not too shabby either. Also another vote for Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction--my assassin kicked ass. It was so much fun with friends even though we stopped just a bit into Act 5.

[Compass]

Hell, yes, with the King's Field praise. I had no idea how many fans there were on this board. Ancient City sits waiting to be opened with a slew of others but I'm looking forward to it maybe the most. I'm waiting for a good solid week when I can really sink my teeth into it. The atmosphere, maintained by the music, pace, and NPCs, in the first two games, as others have mentioned, is amazing; so depressing and hopeless. I love it! Fuck, I want to quit my job now and dive into part IV.

(did anyone here play the first one never released in NA? [IUS = IIJP, IIUS = IIIJP] i read it was god-awful but then, most magazines say the same about the rest of the series).

[kingoffighters]

Shining the Holy Ark

[Despair]

Shining the Holy Ark

This is the one I didnt like at all. And I love Shining Force series, and games related to that.

[Compass]

Ah, yes, how could I forget that one. Still need to finish it too. That's a classic for sure.

And Vagrant Story is just... god, I loved it so much.

I didn't realize until now just how much I actually like this sub-genre.

Also, Nox is pretty good though I'm only at Chapter 5. It seemed a lot better when I started it back in 2000. Now it's not as pretty I guess. Still, nicely done Diablo clone that people only rarely talk about for whatever reason.

[jarrod]

Dragon Quarter, Dark Cloud 2 and Grandia Xtreme stick as great recent dungeon crawlers imo. I'm surprised ChunSoft's Shiren games (SNES/N64/GB) haven't been brought up yet either. Shining Soul 2 looks tasty as well...

[johnk_]

Record of Lodoss War was awesome.. i really need to get back into it..

and i'd kill for an online version.

[skelly]

Whether you like it or not is something else entirely. Give it a rental, an honest shot, and see if you like it. The rest is idiots (including me) blathering on a message board about how much it sucks or rocks :P

Well, I think I don't like it. I'm just teetering back and forth now.

Dammit.

Well, I can finally go and get PS2 Wizardry to put this KF debate off a bit.

[Kidnemo]

Record of Lodoss War was awesome.. i really need to get back into it..

and i'd kill for an online version.

There is already a better, online capable, more enhanced version available...

It's called Diablo II.