Best RPG game studio of all time?

Bantam. They published the Choose Your Own Adventure books before Alefgard was ever shrouded in darkness.

I'm going to have to go with the probably-obvious Bioware. Yes, they've had some troubles recently, but their back catalogue is simply undeniable.

@Tennmuerti said:

The game has to not only facilitate but acknowledge my differences in action of my various characters for it to be an RPG by my definition.

Seems like the only way to accomplish this currently (or the way most RPGs do anyway) is to put the player on rails and give them a couple of tracks to choose from. This can be entertaining and all, but it also limits my role playing abilities to "Choose dialogue option 1, 2, or 3." I am forced to go where the game wants me to go and do what it wants me to do in service of the story. The game won't progress any other way. I am no longer truly in control of my character like I am in Skyrim.

@Zithe said:

@Tennmuerti said:

The game has to not only facilitate but acknowledge my differences in action of my various characters for it to be an RPG by my definition.

Seems like the only way to accomplish this currently (or the way most RPGs do anyway) is to put the player on rails and give them a couple of tracks to choose from. This can be entertaining and all, but it also limits my role playing abilities to "Choose dialogue option 1, 2, or 3." I am forced to go where the game wants me to go and do what it wants me to do in service of the story. The game won't progress any other way. I am no longer truly in control of my character like I am in Skyrim.

Not really all games that do this provide plenty of side content. Obviously there is a main story but so is there one in Skyrim. Take BG2 for example the main story is on rails but the majority of the game is not even part tof the main story. Skyrims main story is just as much on rails. The only difference is how much effort they put into the main thread. And the best of these types of games don't have simple paths with 1-3 choices where to go, they have basically webs of cause and effect, of how things play out depending on your actions.

All you are in controll off of your character in Skyrim is where to go and what quests to take, nothing more really, almost all traditional rpgs do this just not on the same scale.

Is your argument for what defines an rpg is I do what I want? Freedom? then I would argue that Saint's Row is just as much of an RPG.

See? This is why I did not want to get into discussion on what defines an RPG, this shit is so personal to each of us and takes forever to argue.

LOL you kids and your Black Isle.

TSR was rocking out RPGs back when Black Isle was only a sand bar.

@Buzzkill said:

LOL you kids and your Black Isle.

TSR was rocking out RPGs back when Black Isle was only a sand bar.

So was Infocom but you don't see anyone mentioning them.

@uniform said:

Squaresoft. Sorry, I know it's not going to be a popular answer, but it was once upon a time.

Ah, memories...

I would say Bioware but Dragon Age 2 has enough bad in it to offset the good from Baldur's Gate I & II and Dragon Age: Origins, so I'll go with Obsidian / Black Isle on this. Squaresoft if we're talking maybe 10 years ago...

Years ago, I would have said Square.

Now, now I don't know...

I'm too elite to go with anything else than Bioware.

I like Bethesda.

Bioware had me with Mass Effect and Dragon Age..until they made Dragon Age II.

you can tell who is an old school pc gamer from most of these answers

black isle

id murder 10 puppies for a game that could match planescape torments story

Even though I haven't liked the last couple of games Square has put out I still think they're one of the best RPG studios ever. They've made so many beloved classics. They may not be doing so great now but that doesn't negate their amazing legacy.

Team Ninja.

Bethesda

@LordXavierBritish said:

Fact: There has never been a bad Mario RPG.

Also Fire Emblem.

What now mother fuckers.

and Pokemon and Advance Wars are badass.

^ advanced wars was sick, and fire emblem was a fun but frustrating rpg take on advanced wars

Right now: Bethesda

Before their recent troubles: BioWare

A long, long time ago: Square

Black Isle, for consistency. Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale 2. Come on, that's a pretty stable track record.

Bethesda did one of my favorite games of all time, Morrowind, but went downhill from there. Bioware made several superb/good games, like Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and KotOR, but later became so big they had to stop making awesome RPGs that wouldn't sell and instead focus on action games with a few RPG elements mixed in. KotOR was the downfall, yes, even though I enjoyed that game immensely, but at least it wasn't an action game. Don't get me wrong though, I enjoyed Mass Effect quite a lot, so it's not necessarily a major bummer. Perhaps Dragon Age: Origins will redeem them as RPG makers for me. I haven't actually played it, but really seems to be up my alley - especially nowadays with "RPGs" being what they are.

Then we have the JRPGs, which I also enjoy, but I often consider the western style to be more rooted in, and more fitting for, the RPG genre and questions like this. Squaresoft easily takes the cake for JRPGs though. They've made more good games than I can remember, almost all of them before they joined up with Enix.

10 years ago I would have said Origin Systems or New World Computing. With both of them gone, though, I will have to give my vote to Bioware. On the JRPG side my choice would have to be either Tri-Ace or Level 5. Never was a fan of Square, Enix, or Atlus.

Personally, either Atlus or Tri-Ace.

@Mordukai said:

@Buzzkill said:

LOL you kids and your Black Isle.

TSR was rocking out RPGs back when Black Isle was only a sand bar.

So was Infocom but you don't see anyone mentioning them.

I was the first to mention New World Computing and the second to mention Origin Systems. As far as I know no one mentioned Sir Tech. Without Origin and Sir Tech there would be no Black Isle, Bioware, Square Soft, Bethesda, or Enix. Those companies all rose from the innovations of those two companies but you can't expect the average forum goer to have played games made in the 70's.

Black Isle made Planescape: Torment, so by default they are the best rpg game studio of all time.

You didn't specify video game RPG in your opening question...so they lawyer in me will say Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) that formed in 1973 as a partnership between Gary Gygax and DonKaye.

They have about 100 RPGs and various war games to their name. Just in length, breadth and depth of games they walk with giants feet overon the heads of any piss-ant video game company.

As of right now? Probably CS Projekt Red. Small sample size, but the Witcher 3 was really, really good and the series showed a huge level of improvement from game to game.

Historically probably BioWare, although I think they've fallen off a lot since the EA acquisition. They got too big and their talent seems to have been spread too thin between too many studios carrying that name.

From a conceptual standpoint, probably Black Isle/Obsidian. The writing is really good in most of their games and I like a lot of the gameplay ideas. They just never seem to be able to carry it off into a product that isn't full of bugs in one way or another.

yo this thread is 4 years old btw.

anyway give me that obsidian jank over anything else any day

Tossup between Square, Enix, and Necromancy

Kinda joking, kinda not joking, but Game Freak (Pokémon)??? Like, they deserve recognition for making a fun, accessible RPG series with a lot of hidden depth that is also one of the biggest cultural phenomenon ever.

I will grant you, I am not an RPG guy. I play Bethesda games, Paper Mario games, and Witcher 3 and that's the extent of my personal RPG knowledge.

Woah, a master necromancer resurected this thread.

Anyway, Piranha Bytes are masters in their field. Even a few misteps doesn't invalidate the greatness they usually provide.

ERAUQS SI DLROW EHT

A toss up between Obsidian and Bethesda for me.

@tennmuerti: So just out of curiosity, do you not consider games like Final Fantasy 1-12 as role playing games? Or the Persona series? Chrono Trigger or Cross?

Square before they become the Squenix

Strategic Simulations, Inc.

Please mind the age of some of the posts in here when replying in this thread.

Black Isle is kinda the obvious answer. I'd still probably lean towards Sir-Tech (Wizardry), New World Computing (Might & Magic) or Westwood (Lands of Lore, Nox) though. In recent years I started to realize that From Software were always really good at this too, even when going back to the PS1 era King's Field their world design, writing and atmosphere shines through.

You know what? Snowblind Studios were really good at making console action-RPG's too. Champions of Norrath is one of my all time favorite PS2 games.

ATLUS. Not close for me.

Runner-up probably Overworks (in all their forms) or Obsidian.

Square gets HM for longevity and overall production.

Black Isle/ Obsidian
BTW https://www.fig.co/campaigns/deadfire#forum

@uniform: I was gonna say the same thing. Coming from a 15 year old I can say that these games hold up. The beautiful music combined with gameplay that has stood the test of time makes a truly amazing experience. These are things I can't say about some of my other favorite rpgs (Fallout:NV , Skyrim)

It looks like the me of almost 5 years ago said Black Isle, which I'm not sure I'd agree with anymore. At this point, I think Obsidian has made a better slate of RPGs than the company they spawned from, between New Vegas, NWN 2: Mask of the Betrayer, Pillars of Eternity and... sure, let's throw KotOR 2 in there as well. Even Alpha Protocol, which is kind of a mess and has some of the worst-designed boss fights in the history of ever, is still pretty much unrivaled in terms of reactivity. The only real clunker they've ever made is probably Dungeon Siege 3, right?

I wouldn't change the order much from 5 years ago, except I'd add CD Projekt Red in after Nintendo . If Cyberpunk is good I'll move them up to 3. I'd probably also kick Betheseda down a notch or two.

It's hard to say. My favorite rpg is Jade Cocoon, but Genki never made anything better than this. Then there's Black Isle. PST was truly an intellectual gem, as were the first two Fallout games, but i Didn't enjoy them that much. Another RPG's i love are first two Gothics and BG2, although new PB and Bioware games arent very interesting to me. Bethesda is overrated :D I'd go with Pyranha Bytes in the era of the first two Gothic games.

BioWare.

Bethesda

Idea Factory/Compile Heart :)

1980-1999 Enix, Squaresoft, New World Computing and Bethesda.

2000-2010 Atlus, Blizzard, From Software, Bethesda and Bioware.

2010-2017 From Software, Concerned Ape (Stardew Valley), Blizzard and, while they could really use a kick in the teeth now, Bethesda.

So I guess my favorite RPG game studio is Bethesda. Ever since their release of Arena I've been hooked on most of their open world RPG shenanigans.

I would say Atlus, simply for the Shin Megami Tensei & Persona series.

CD Projekt Red.

I know a lot of people only recently got on the Witcher train thanks to 3, and some thanks to 2, but from the get go they made amazing worlds with fantastic characters and engaging story. The original Witcher was interesting to play, and might be a challenge for some people to grasp, but it holds it's own in the RPG arena for sure. Then following that with the amazing advancements of Witcher 2 then one of the best games of all time Witcher 3, the entire series as a whole stands far above most other franchises, and all 3 games taken together make for possibly the best gaming experience ever, if you play RPGs to disappear into other worlds.

@takayamasama: I don't really have an answer to this question since I like BioWare's stuff most, but also am flat-out bored by some of their stuff so it would be odd to call it 'the best'. I do know I don't think CD Projekt Red is it. The Witcher was amazing and I found 2 and 3 to be very disappointing by comparison. It has gotten streamlined in a bad way. They lost pretty much everything that made me really like The Witcher by the time 3 came out.

I've been hating that game for a while now though and I am considering giving it a fourth try to get into it.