Why I Love RPG's So Much. (And What Took Me So Long to Realize It)

The last few years, I have really attained a love for role playing games. But it wasn't always that way. Come with me on a journey, a journey where a young, biased action gamer learns that RPG's can be fun too.....

The story begins a long time ago. A time when this:

Viva la mullet!

was considered okay to sport around town (I never had one).

See, I have been gaming since the late 80's, and growing up, all I played were action games and platformers, with the occasional puzzle game thrown in. I had seen and heard of role playing games, but I wrote them off as boring and stupid, and never bothered to play one until I played Quest 64 in the mid '90's. That shitty game confirmed my preconceived notions, and put me off of rpg's for another several years, until I played Fable on xbox.

*waits for flames*



Yes, I said Fable.

Yes, this game.

We'll get to that in a minute, let's backtrack for a second.

See, I just never had the right mentality when I was young. I wanted action (Ninja Gaiden was my favourite series at the tim-....oh wait, it still is) (yes, I'm still that action guy at heart) and rpg's were ''slow'' and ''boring.'' I didn't care about story. EVER. I always, always skipped or disregarded the story in games. I thought I would never enjoy an RPG.

So fast forward to the N64 era, and on a whim I tried Quest 64, because my younger brother borrowed it from a friend, and it confirmed for me my feeling that RPG's sucked.

Boy was I wrong. But before we get to that, let's backtrack again (hope this isn't confusing) for a second, and talk about Fable.

Fable

I'll be brief, because my love for this game is never ending, and I think this would get waaaaayyyyy too long if I went off on how much and why I love this game. Perhaps, if anyone gives a shit, I'll elucidate this in its own blog. So I'll be brief:

I love you I love you I love you

(By the way, I'm listening to the Fable theme song while I type this. I suggest you listen to it while reading).



 It's fanfuckingtastic.

Anyways, I don't even remember how I first started playing Fable, but I do know that I was ready to quit near the start due to sheer boredom, but I persisted and within a few hours I was so immersed in the world of Albion I didn't want to leave. The sights, the sounds, the interaction between you and the NPC's, and how your actions had some actual, tangible effect on the world around you (and the story). The morality system, everything. It was all new to me and all very exciting. There was so much to see and do (remember, I was new to RPG's. I know Fable is an rpg lite, or to some, even an action/adventure with leveling, but to me it was all new).

I loved the combat in it, the mix of melee attacks, combos, flourishes and magic. Slowing time, casting lightning, it was so cool. Hunting for treasure, even digging it up out of the ground. The game had amazing music, graphics, everything. A real sense of charm that has stuck with me to this day. The world of Albion might not be the biggest game world out there, and it might not have the most content. But it's beautifully constructed and very endearing. So, I ended up putting hundreds of hours into multiple playthroughs of that game.

I love you forever, Fable. *goes down on Fable*

Present Day

Now, I've played many role playing games, and have greatly enjoyed myself . The attention to detail, story, dialogue, choices, combat, leveling, even grinding. All awesome. The feeling of being immersed in a world, and being responsible for the events within it, character progression and customization. Everything.

And it all started with Fable. (Yes, I know it's an RPG lite). Of course, I play a lot more ''heavier'' RPG's, now, but Fable is still special to me, even though it's more of an action adventure in some ways. And Fable II, while great, and featuring some improvements over the first, was also a letdown in many ways, which I won't get into here, as this is long as it is. If I ever do that Fable blog (if anyone wants to read it) I'll get into it there.

So, back to rpg's. I love them, and they are slowly becoming my favourite genre. I play handheld ones as well as console ones, although I only play Action RPG's. I don't enjoy turn based combat. I'm still an action gamer at heart, and I don't think that will ever change. When it comes to combat, it needs to be real time (for me). Speaking of combat, this guy:

He'll never be in the ARMy, hahahahaha....sorry

is king (to me).

So, that's one gamers' tale of how he became a fan of role playing games. I know I am still missing out due to my insistence that combat must be real time, but I have tried a few turn based games and I know that preference will likely never change. Unless you count Puzzle Quest. Then I suppose I do like some (select) turn based action.