Games with a great plot and great characters

I love to ask people to recommend games with great plots and characters. And this place, I think, is very fitting for such a question, since games like Xenogears and Xenosaga specifically attract people who appreciate these two things (I never played Xenoblade, so I can't include it).

Any suggestions for the masterpieces of plot\characters?

P.S. I don't mind old games.

I highly recommend Vagrant Story as a whole. It's a small game, but it packs a lot of personality, and definitely worth watching a Let's Play. The combat is very difficult, so it turned many people away, but the story is awesome.

Thanks I'll check it out. So an LP is better than playing? I never received a recommendation to watch an LP before

Haha, I mean, I totally advocate playing a game before watching an LP, but I've seen IRL reactions by friends ragequitting Vagrant Story, so watching an LP is an option.

Haha, a dangerous start to the topic, Vagrant Story is probably as hard as it gets when it comes to
RPGs. But yes I like it as well.

Also, this will be the short version but these are some of my favorites and all of them have more
or less strong or unique stories when it comes to the genre:

Chrono Trigger + (Chrono Cross)
Suikoden II
Valkyrie Profile
Final Fantasy 6
Terranigma
Lufia 2
Tales of Phantasia
.Hack GU 1-3

Thank you!

Final Fantasy 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Chrono Trigger.

Persona 3 and 4.

Started playing Radiant Historia which seems really good so far.

Never finished vagrant story, due to combat actually lol.

Id say not RPG's but the Metal gear series have very interesting story's and characters.

Some I know of would of course be the Chrono series but also Seiken Densetsu (Secret of Mana) series, Valkyrie Profile, Parasite Eve, Suikoden, Star Ocean, and Policenauts although that one is particular is a point-and-click PS1 adventure game Hideo Kojima made which heavily influenced the Metal Gear Solid games. My introduction into the Xeno series with Xenogears and Xenosaga has led me to hunt down the more obscure games most gamers tend to overlook or forget about.

- Final Fantasy Tactics : I had a bad case of "it's one of the most highly regarded jRPG when it comes to plot and I don't want it to know all about it too soon". And so, I stopped at chapter 1/2 out of excitement and anxiety. But boy, it was good and I should ultimately come back to play the rest one day.
- FF7 : a classic... but everyone here probably played it. If you didn't, go for it of course.
- Shadow Hearts series : mostly, the first and second (Covenant) one. The third is fun, I think... but so much lighter and disconnected from the story people loved in the first two games. Probably not too complex... but highly enjoyable imo... with wacky and moving/sad moments.
- Planescape Torment : at least for the writing (it's novel quality... it litterally reads like a novel too) and the amazing and peculiar lore.
- not a RPG... but I'd recommand Ghost Trick (it's funny, original and the plot really surprises you in the end). It's done by the same guy who did the Ace Attorney games (the first trilogy being a must to play btw).
- not a RPG either... but Silent Hill 2... its plot and characters are really fantastic. I always cry at the end (that letter   ).

I wish I could also find more games with great stories and characters that really appeal to me. It has gotten more and more difficult, imo (most stuff that could appeal to me are probably old games... I'd like to play the Suikoden series, Baten Kaitos series, Terranigma, Anachronox and a few more I may not remember or know about). Lately, I was really digging the atmosphere and basic story of FF15 (plus, Noctis is a really sweet main character... Prompto is also extremely lovable... and

Spoiler:

is really effective... it's been a while since the main series had a villain like this one... since FF9's Kuja imo... some others would say Seymour from FF10 but I didn't like him) but the storytelling was butchered, the game not being quite finished (lots of people say that it's the new Xenogears because of this... especially as lots of people still really like the game despite the issues *myself included*... the difference though is that Xenogears' story was huge next to it... and not as faulty when it came to directing imo... FF15 probably also has more sidecontent too... even if I'm not sure it's all great... MMORPG quests *fetching, hunting* are the bane of modern gaming... people will do them because OCD is powerful stuff *I suffer from it, I know*... but they're cheap content imo *the way some games try to make them more attractive is to build stories around them... a few more interesting than others*... but the fishing, photos, etc... I think this stuff was nice). I didn't play this game though. I don't have the money for anything these days... and since it was FF, I figured it would be impossible not to be spoiled. So I watched a LP.

Otherwise, the only upcoming game I expect a great story/character time from is Persona 5. Always loved each new title more than the previous one. P3 was the discovery, so it felt new and original to me (for gaming... in animes, not so much... i'm talking about the "highschoolers with superpowers" concept). P4 was an improvement with characters I felt much closer to (I was HUGELY attached to the Dojima family ç_ç). I have a great feeling about P5. The theme seems interesting considering how I feel about my own life, the music seems better than ever, great character designs, improved graphics à la Catherine, improved gameplay in dungeons... Seems golden. And it's the only upcoming game I can also play (since it's still coming out on PS3... bless). Especially as my birthday is coming up soon (I'll know what to ask).

Xenoblade Chronicles and X. If you haven't played either, great series. X might lack a bit as far as main story the depth in which it builds its characters is epic.

final fantasy x
devil may cry
onimusha