I've Finally Got a Playstation...

...3.  Cheaper, more complete library of games, and the PS4 ain't fully backwards compatible.  Perhaps next gen. I'll fork out for a PS4.  Perhaps I won't.

ANYWAY I have Dark Souls, Ico/SoTC and Persona 3 down on my 'to get' list.  Any recommendations for other top software?  

I like RPGs, exploring (in RPGs and platformers and the like), fantasy settings, arty farty games, and lots of colours.  I don't like shooting, gritty realism (or gritty futuristic stuff particularly), branching plot paths, or online-focussed games.

Thank you!

I'll have a think and get back to you- buying a PS3 and playing the back catalogue of games I'd missed was my first foray into Nontendo as well. My one bit of advice first of all: Go outside your comfort zones. There were genres I didn't think I was into but that was because I'd only played the second-rate options that had filtered through to Nintendo machines.

This is exciting! I will make a big ol' post about this when I'm not stabbing monsters with the boys.

I felt a bit the same way, Zero.  But I do want to stretch my horizons a little bit.  You had better bet that Nintendo will take priority, though.

Drunka, I shall do my best, but I just... can't... aim. And the grittyness thing applies to all walks of media: TV, films, anime, etc.

Incidentally, your OP up there was my 13,000th post here.  Unlucky for Sony?

There's gritty and gritty. Halo and Gears of War* are both about humanity on the brink of extinction shooting aliens but one is full of hope, and heroism, and good humour whereas the other is downbeat, desperate and laced with gallows humour. I find enjoyment in both, but I prefer the former and can understand the latter putting people off.

As for aiming... that's a thing, but you might be surprised how much of that comes down to good or bad game design rather than you being mince.

*Yes, I'm aware I just made my point by using two Xbox games in this Playstation thread.

If you're going outside of your comfort zone (but not too far outside of your comfort zone) there's lots of quality arcade racers that I'd recommend - Burnout Paradise, GRID 2, Split/Second, Blur, Ridge Racer Unbounded and MotorStorm can probably be found for under twenty quid combined.

I can give you some recommendations for stuff within your comfort zone, at least!

RPGs - having a look at some of the Final Fantasy games not on Nintendo is probably a good shout. FFX HD comes recommended. I think Eternal Sonata would be right up your alley as well. I've not played Ni no Kuni, but you'll likely enjoy that too. And Persona, natch.

Platformers - a bit of a sparser selection here. The Jak and Daxter trilogy is brilliant, and it's worth the price for Jak and Daxter: The Precusor Legacy as that's a brilliant collect-a-thon platformer. Ratchet's good, but it's more in the vein of an action platformer.

But yeah, might be worth having a look at some other genre types out there too - plenty of good games on the platform.

Drunkalilly wrote:

There's gritty and gritty. Halo and Gears of War* are both about humanity on the brink of extinction shooting aliens but one is full of hope, and heroism, and good humour whereas the other is downbeat, desperate and laced with gallows humour. I find enjoyment in both, but I prefer the former and can understand the latter putting people off.

Aye I'll give you that. I'd definitely feel that GoW is grittier, and that I'd enjoy Halo more. As you say, to discuss two games I won't play any time soon regardless.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

If you're going outside of your comfort zone (but not too far outside of your comfort zone) there's lots of quality arcade racers that I'd recommend - Burnout Paradise, GRID 2, Split/Second, Blur, Ridge Racer Unbounded and MotorStorm can probably be found for under twenty quid combined.

Cheers boss, arcade-y racing is probably close enough for me to give it a go (just don't expect me to try Gran Turismo). Out of that bunch, which would you recommend most highly? Even if money ain't an issue, time will be. I'd be inclined to go for Burnout first because of its pedigree, unless you feel otherwise.

JayMoyles wrote:

I can give you some recommendations for stuff within your comfort zone, at least!

How could I forget about Ni No Kuni? Even Tam McGleish loves Ni No Kuni! That's a must-have for certain. Then I've heard all of FFs IX, X, and XII come with varying degrees of recommendations, so I'll have to make a judgement call where to start.

JnD probably take preference over RnC for the reason you mention. Thanks Jay, much appreciated.

I'll say that Jak 2 and Jak 3 are more action platformer, but The Precursor Legacy is one of my favourite platformers.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think on PSN you can just get Jak 1, I honestly wouldn't bother with 2 or 3, they're a bit shooty and at that point you might as well be playing the vastly superior R&C games (I'd also recommend just jumping in at the PS3 R&C games as they're a totally seperate series and I think they're better).

NNK is a very interesting in that it's great in every way but its battle system, still enjoyable though.

I don't think there's any way to play FFXII on PS3 (presently at least), I did enjoy most of 10 though. Personally I'd recommend XIII, people are very harsh on it for not following a more traditional FF style, but I think it & XIII-2 are great.

On the less obviously Balladeer games front, I'll always recommend trying Uncharted 2 and TLoU, I think they are just such high quality games that they deserve a punt.

Sure there are plenty of better suggestions I can give you but I need to sleep, so I'll think again later.

P.S, get Catherine, it's the best.

Edit: New Suggestions What I Reckon You'll Like:
Sly Trilogy, If you're looking more for the platformy side of Jak & Ratchet, this one stays truer to the format throughout, though it does change from more linear levels to open worlds after the first game.

Atelier Rorona Plus, I don't think the Atelier series gets enough love, JRPG with a fun crafting system  and a good set of characters, first in a trilogy with a lot to love (it's one the got better with each entry I'd say)

Yakuza 3/4/5, a wonderful game that is kind of hard to describe, the core gameplay is like a 3D streets of rage, but that's not what makes it shine, it's the ridiculous, dramatic story, the crazy side stories and the loveable characters. There are loads of minigames to get stuck into and the cities are brilliant to just wander around. You can start anywhere as the stories aren't especially linked and there are quick catch up videos if you are interested. I started with 3.

Less certain of this one, but: South Park: The Stick of Truth, great comedy RPG that plays a lot like Paper Mario, probably going to be coloured by how much you like South Park...

Shot in the dark: Vanquish, I know you're not a shootery or futuristic man, but this game is so slick, so cool and it's just tremendous fun to zip around and make robots explode.

There are also probably loads of PSN games that I could recommend, but ther problem with those is I can't look at my shelf to remember them, so...

EditEdit: Get Flower, like Journey, but not shit.

Oops

The PS3 is actually like you say Balla is a better way to introduce yourself to the other systems and has a vast library of games that can be picked up cheap along with sales always PSN, that like I said in a post to Zero you want feel as bad bigger up a game for a fiver on a PS3 and not supporting Nintendo.

I will have think late like the others what I would recommended especially seeing you missed PS1 which the PS3 does have PS1 Classics which is like the VC along with some PS2 but to many to list from that, so that might be better you got is Castlevania Symphony of the Night or Final Fantasy IX still worth a download and the answer is YES!

Also the PS3 of all versions will play PS1 games, but not PS2 less you got a 60gb Phat which is very doubt fall, hnce why we got a lot of HD PS2 games like the Team ICO collection.

Hope you have fun though and the PS3's poor UI doesn't put you of for the future as look at Drunka now

Tales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of Xillia TALES OF XILLIA!

It has its flaws, but it's far better than Abyss and suffers none of the crippling flaws.  No spending half the main story backtracking (or being an errand boy either), the battle system encourages actual combos and flows a lot better than Abyss, and the story is way better.  Better villain too, a person whose goals are not simply moustache twirling stupid.  It also reverses the usual male/female protagonist relationship which was a breath of fresh air.  

To put it simply, if you play any Tales Of on the Ps3 it should be Xillia.  It's one of the only jrpgs that, after the high of finishing it wears off, I still regard very highly.  

That said if you do pick it up don't start with Milla's side even if you are tempted to do it because female lead, you'll be completely lost in the final act due to the two routes diverging and all the plot during the divergence happening on Jude's path (all the character arcs resolve there as well).  Milla's side is more for replays.  She still comes off as the real main character on Jude's route anyway.  


On other JRPGs, Final Fantasy XIII is worth trogging through just due to the spectacle of it (even if the writing is godawful and the battle system is limited as heck until the last few chapters).  Be aware if you hate fanservice in anime you'll loath Vanille and her constant orgasmic moaning in battle (not even exaggerating, and unfortunately she's one of the better characters to have in the party too).  XIII-2 makes XIII worth it, as does Lightning Returns.  The former adds in explorable level design and the latter takes that to the next level while having one of the single most inventive and engaging battle systems in a modern rpg (had so much fun I even plat'd it).  



And that about does it for my two cents that nobody wants.  I would add in some retro titles but you've already got Persona 3 (make sure it's FES, no sure if they even added the original version but just in case double check you're getting FES anyway) and are already looking in to the older Final Fantasies.  I reckon all that along with everyone elses recs about covers the obvious essentials of the system.

Let's take this one step at a time.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

I'm not 100% sure, but I think on PSN you can just get Jak 1...

I will do this if possible, then.  Is PSN still working for those with a PS3?

Crumpy Andy wrote:

NNK is a very interesting in that it's great in every way but its battle system, still enjoyable though.

I have just shelled out for this, thought for a horrible moment that I wouldn't be able to find a UK copy. Just to check, the PS3's region-free, right?  It's just Nintendo that makes stupid decisions like that?

Crumpy Andy wrote:

I don't think there's any way to play FFXII on PS3 (presently at least), I did enjoy most of 10 though.

I didn't realise that was PS2. But you can get X through PSN presumably?

Crumpy Andy wrote:

On the less obviously Balladeer games front, I'll always recommend trying Uncharted 2 and TLoU, I think they are just such high quality games that they deserve a punt.

Uncharted 2... maybe, in the future.  I take your point about it being one for everybody to play, reckon I'll go for Cappa's arcade suggestion first though.  TLoU can get tae fock, I wouldn't struggle through a Terry Pratchett novel plot if it were married to stealth mechanics.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

P.S, get Catherine, it's the best.

Ah yes!  I liked the look of what I saw of that.  Reckon I'll find it pretty difficult to sympathise with the hero though.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

Sly Trilogy, If you're looking more for the platformy side of Jak & Ratchet, this one stays truer to the format throughout, though it does change from more linear levels to open worlds after the first game.

You say that last bit like it's a minus. Sold!

Crumpy Andy wrote:

Atelier Rorona Plus, I don't think the Atelier series gets enough love, JRPG with a fun crafting system  and a good set of characters, first in a trilogy with a lot to love (it's one the got better with each entry I'd say)

I'm going to require a bit more selling on this one, because I've seen some bits of the Atelier series plot through Unskippable and it looks bad for even a JRPG.  Are the games, like the Tales series, widely varying in quality?  Or are they all that twee?

Crumpy Andy wrote:

Yakuza 3/4/5, a wonderful game that is kind of hard to describe, the core gameplay is like a 3D streets of rage, but that's not what makes it shine, it's the ridiculous, dramatic story, the crazy side stories and the loveable characters.

That's, again, a good pitch.  Sold again!

Crumpy Andy wrote:

Less certain of this one, but: South Park: The Stick of Truth, great comedy RPG that plays a lot like Paper Mario, probably going to be coloured by how much you like South Park...

This one not for me I think.  South Park has its good bits and its bad bits, what little I've seen - but apparently there's a boss battle where you have to dodge a descending scrotum, and if that's representative of the humour throughout then I'll give it a miss.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

Shot in the dark: Vanquish, I know you're not a shootery or futuristic man, but this game is so slick, so cool and it's just tremendous fun to zip around and make robots explode.

After not getting on with Platinum's other games that I've played (Bayo 1, TW101), I feel that picking up a game that marries them with my least favourite genre would be a mistake.  Also apparently it has Cave Story's bollocks idea of making your weapons worse when you take damage/die.  Probably not, then.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

EditEdit: Get Flower, like Journey, but not shit.

Up for some hot Journey action! Nah, truth is I'd feel guilty about letting my companion(s) down, and how active are the servers even likely to be?  Flower sounds all right for when the world's getting too much and I need some peace, something to buy in the future.

masofdas wrote:

...is Castlevania Symphony of the Night or Final Fantasy IX still worth a download and the answer is YES!

I'm not a big retro fan, however I will gladly give those two you mentioned a shot (time willing).

masofdas wrote:

Also the PS3 of all versions will play PS1 games, but not PS2 less you got a 60gb Phat which is very doubt fall...

Doubt Fall sounds like some weird indie game!  No, I'm getting a Slim sadly.

masofdas wrote:

look at Drunka now

It's very unlikely that I'll become as much of a multiplat evangelist as Drunka, I'll tell you that now.

Athrun888 wrote:

Tales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of XilliaTales of Xillia TALES OF XILLIA!

Sorry, which game are you recommending again? Nah that sounds like it fixes my biggest (but not only) problem with TotA, which was the errand-boy-ness.  Up for that. And thanks for the advice about Jude/Milla, otherwise I would have gone for Milla.  Sounds like a grand idea with poor execution.

Athrun888 wrote:

Final Fantasy XIII... Be aware if you hate fanservice in anime you'll loath Vanille and her constant orgasmic moaning in battle...

FFXIII is definitely on my horizon (after IX and X), but if there's one thing that'll turn me right off, it's this.

Athrun888 wrote:

...(had so much fun I even plat'd it).  

I'd forgotten about trophies.  If I become a person who gets trophies for the sake of getting trophies, you're all allowed to come down to London and force me to play five hours of Action Girlz Racing.



Thanks greatly for all the suggestions gents!  I'm still waiting for Drunka to fill in any last gaps, but I reckon I've got a good list to start with here, between retail games and PSN.

Yes, PS3 is region free and there's an HD Remaster of X & X-2.

If you're going to go for a Tales game I'd recommend Graces, Xillia bored me to tears, the battle system seemed a little more involved in Graces at least.

With Atelier the Arland trilogy is quite twee, but with Unskipable you're only catching the opening cutscene and those aren't especially representative of the rest of the game. You could try Ayesha if you just want to dive into it for raw gameplay or a less cutesy set of characters, but I do think Arland is where it's at.

The battle system in Graces is fantastic, one of the best I've had the pleasure of experiencing truly, but everything else is just . . . Well, it fluctuates between  and

The story was dire, the cast were anime stereotypes on steroids (and not in the awesome Danganronpa insane parody way, in the cringey facedesk inducing way), really its only saving graces were the battle system and the admittedly really funny skits.  

Both are pretty cheap now however and they're both pretty different in tone cast and presentation so I wouldn't have any issues saying Graces deserves a look.  All Tales Of have their share of pros and cons, and neither Graces nor Xillia share Abyss's.  They're also both far more fun to actually play, which does help when an rpg starts to drag imo.  

Just to be clear, despite what I've said I actually love Graces.  I'm just a little hesitant to rec it right out of the gate is all.  And all this talk of Graces is making me want to replay it now.  

Burnout Paradise would be my choice, Balladeer - there isn't an open-world racer that's as good as Paradise is, anywhere.

I'll also echo andyman's suggestion for the first Jak & Daxter game. If it's available as a standalone download on PSN, get it, it's exactly your sort of game.

Last suggestion: NiGHTS into Dreams is truly special, and beloved by many of those who have played it. The reason I suggest it to you is that it's very unusual, whimiscal and fantastic in the same way that Super Mario Galaxy is. "Exploring, fantasy settings, arty farty, and lots of colours"; you're talking about NiGHTS into Dreams. It's an absolute classic and for just £6.49 on PSN I'd honestly think less of you if you weren't at least a bit interested. It's got the best gaming soundtrack ever too.

Welcome to scary world of Nontendo!

If you are looking for a great zelda like hidden gem I can't recommend 3D dot heroes enough, beautifully simple art style and gameplay of top down zelda game - tons of fun!

For a jrpg I don't think anyone has suggested try the disgea series. Plays kinda like fire emblem but more wacky Japanese story!

Other than that just have

Balla doesn't like Strategy games as it is, don't suggest bad ones

Can't say I rate 3D Dot either, always felt awkward for the sake of it.

Haha disgea is great in my humble vita loving opinion :p

Right, all of you shut up, I'm here.

Definite Balla Games.

Shadow of the Collossus - Glad this one was on your radar already. It plays like a mix of Mario and Zelda. Absolute masterpiece. If you're planning to play Ico as well, play that first. Playing it after SOTC, it feels a bit pish.

Dragon Age: Origins - Look, I know what you're gonna say. You don't like choice. But listen Chuffster, here's what you're gonna do. At the start of DA, you have a few options for origin stories. Play through one or two that sound interesting, and you'll have a good idea of who your character is by the end of it. You're a writer, you can let a fictional character live in your head. Then you're gonna play through the game with that character, and tell them to say the things that character would say. By the end of it, you'll have played a great fantasy RPG and you're just gonna tell yourself that was the story and that was how it went, and you'll be done. You're not a score-hound like Andy, you don't need the other endings. That was your story, you're done. BELIEVE!
But play it on easy, because the combat's a bit dull.

Beyond Good and Evil HD - Don't know if you played this on Gamecube, but you've got a chance now!

Maybe Balla Games

Skyrim - I feel like you should give one of these big, mad open fantasies a go and I don't think you'd like the FPS angle or the post-apocalyptic angle of Fallout.

Mass Effect - I know Dragon Age was a hard enough sale but you liked the Xenoblade games and they took a lot of inspiration from Mass Effect. As for the choice thing, the overall story beats of Mass Effect don't change much, you just put a personal touch on it. It's more character forming than story changing. The shooting is never too taxing, and the difficulty options are forgiving. This is just one of the best Sci Fi stories of all time, up there with Trek and Wars.

Blur - Of the racers Cappa suggested, this is the one that's basically just Mario Kart.

Not Typical Balla Games But He Should Try

Dark Souls - You've said you'll try. I hope you like it and persevere, and I hope you don't have the technical PS3 issues I did.

Bioshock - A really well realised world and super good story mixed with well creepy imagery. This is a bit darker and shootier than you're normally into but I loved it.

Batman: Arkham Asylum/ City - Not sure where you stand on Batman, but if you're into the character at all I think these games are the best he's ever been realised outside the pages of a comicbook.

I'm sure I'm missing loads as it is such a big, wide world of gaming. There's loads of little indie things, there's all the Telltale stuff...
What finally convinced me to go Nontendo was listening to Midnight Resistance. Find a podcast or youtuber you like who happens to do more than Nintendo and listen to loads of their back catalogue, you'll find loads of gems they chat about and now when you're listening you can think "ooh- I can play that!"

Balladeer wrote:

You had better bet that Nintendo will take priority, though.

That's true of all of us. That's why we're here.
Hell, I took so long replying to this Playstation post because I spent all last night playing 3DS with Andy and the Jameses.

The PS3 is region free but Ni No Kuni is to find, that would be my highest recommend game for you Balla due to it being from Level-5 and Studio Ghibli.

PSN is still up and fine on PS3, also still free and like I said always a sale which might also finding games you might not have played.

Yeah i know your not a big retro guy but both of those hold really well, can you still play Super Metroid?

Few other things, it might be worth going back to counting classics and do you have a Blu Ray player PS3 be handy for that and the PS3 is still getting games Persona 5 is February.  

Now what I recommend, which are sort in your comfort zone:
1. 3D Dot Game Heroes, 2D Zelda clone but in 3D
2. Atelier series, I don’t know much about them but they look like something you may enjoy
3. Catherine, this is excellent
4. Dragons Crown, Yeah those characters
5. Eternal Sonata, It’s a JRPG about Frederic Chopin
6. Final Fantasy X/X-2HD, I've liked what I've played and likely better then XIII Trilogy
7. Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy, I wasn't a big fan of XIII but as you've not played a proper FF for a while you might like it and Athrun seems to like Lighting Returns
8. Folklore, Monster battling RPG with themes of Irish myths
9. Kingdom Hearts 1.5HD & 2.5HD, JRPG's with Disney charterers
10. NIER, Andy will need to tell you more but has become a cult classic
11. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, just read EofGiz review
12. Ratchet & Clank series, I think all of them part from the one on PS4 is on the PS3 and I think some aren't too hot
13. Resonance of Fate, JRPG with guns from SEGA
14. Rune Factory Oceans, if you want a harvest moon x jrpg game
15. Sly series and Jak series, good platformers
16. Star Ocean, Not Square’s best RPG series but might be worth a look
17. Steins;Gate, What I’ve played seems a decent visual novel
18. Stick of Truth, I agree with Andy
19. Tales of Games, I've not played them that you might want to listen to Athrun but it's a decent JRPG series
20. Team ICO collection, SotC is all I have to say
21. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, EofGiz seems to like it a lot
22. Valkyria Chronicles, A bit like Battalion Wars & Code Name STEAM mixed with Fire Emblem  

The Big Three Indies Journey, Flower and Unfinished Swan, Journey can be played on your own fine and to me needs to be played more so then TLoU or anything like that I would go back a read Muss's review on Gintendo, the other two also worth checking out like a lot on the PS3 on PSN but so many to list

Not in your comfort zone
1. Binary Domain, Third Person Shooter but due to the Japanese flair I think you would like
2. Burnout Paradise, it’s better online and depends if anyone is playing it
3. Enslaved, Colourful Action-Adventure game  
4. Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Soul's, I like them but not everyone's cup of tea
5. InFamous, Superhero games but not as dark as Batman due to artstyle
6. Lollipop Chainsaw, Silly over the top action game from Suda 51
7. Mass Effect Trilogy, Mine and Drunkas fav game but is shooting in a sci fi Western RPG
8. Metal Gear Solids, PS3 is home to MGS2HD, MGS3HD, MGSPWHD, MGS4, MGSVGZ and MGSVPP
9. Prince of Persia (2008), Mainly I like how it looks
10. Telltale Games, All good after TWD
11. Uncharted 2, I would also say TLoU but due to the setting I understand but Uncharted 2 out of the series is fantastic
12. Vanquish, Platinum games game that you know its top draw
13. Yakuza, I’ve not played but looks so good that I’ve been tempted to get a PS3 again just to play the ones on it

That's a lot of games as you see without looking at PSN, PS1 or PS2 Classics or looking at the really obscure RPG's like Tears to Tiara 2: Heir of the Overlord (I don't even know what that is) or going even more out of your comfort zone.

Drunka's idea does sound good by finding someone you like and go from there, also check reviews out from a trusted source even we've played some of these that could be last game I finished / counting classics / gintendo.

Maybe just pick randomly as PS3 games can be picked up cheap, just go in GAME or what not have a look and go this looks good, and go from there also demos on PSN.

God damn it, I've got to get me some Bioshock action.  People talk about Uncharted 2 and TLoU and the like being some of gaming's greatest: from an outsider's point of view, Uncharted 2 seemed like Tomb Raider with a less likeable protagonist, while TLoU was a film crossed with a stealth game that got praise for its story and had shonky gameplay overlooked.

Bioshock?  Even from Nintendo Island, I knew that was an utter revelation, and that feeling hasn't diminished over time.  I'm all over that like a satisfactorily disgusting simile.

I'll address all the other posts since my most recent one tomorrow.  For now, I'll say that I've already got Yakuza 3 winging its way to me, along with DS, SotC, and NNK.

I'm suprised only Drunka's mentioned Skyrim so far. Although, it's a bit shonky on PS3, so give its daddy Oblivion a go! Otherwise... what everyone else said.

Don't get Little Big Planet. I know you like platformers - as do I - but, as a Nintendo fan, you'll appreciate being able to jump 100% of the time you press the jump button.

I remember back when we did counting classics, pretty much only you wanted Skyrim. Now I've not played it but must be a reason why people didn't and have brought up here.

I'm shocked you are even considering Bioshock, Balla as it's extremely dark and plays from a FPS view, that even though it's in my Top 10 games of all-time, I never even thought about recommending it to you as to be honest I'm not sure you'll like it.

On Uncharted 2, I like Drake but to me he's the cocky hero like some of my favourites but some may not like that but his buddies are all fleshed out in a epic Indy style game.

TLoU as you may know I don't think it's the second coming due to the gameplay but the story is so good that even with the gameplay it's a must play.