Not "new" as in recent, but during the almost 20 years of its existence, people have created a huge treasure trove of content for the game, and it's not just a couple of mods like with most other games, in fact NWN was made with the idea that players could create and share their own story campaigns with the toolset, and the community made ample use of it. And a lot of the fan-made stuff actually surpasses the official campaigns. The reason for NWN's popularity always was this fan-made content, single or multiplayer, not the default game.

It's really a mix of different genres, not something classic disrupted by one sequence or something. It has top-down/isometric exploration, adventure game and action/puzzle parts (the latter in a style similar to Zelda, Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse, or the first Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain), it has 3D dungeon exploration parts (not grid-based, free roam like Wolfenstein 3D), and when you encounter enemies it switches to a turn-based tactical combat board (somewhat comparable with the Goldbox games perhaps).

It's probably not a game for you, if you don't like these different features to be mixed, but it's not bad because of it. My personal issue with it was that I maneuvered myself into a near unwinnable situation close to the end because I ran out of resources like bullets.

Alt toggles between walk and run.

See Arcanum wasn't mentioned? Combat may be switched between real time and turn based, but real time's a mess anyway. Admittedly, since you say newer games, that definitely won't fit.

Yes, I have that issue with the direction the FF series took. For example:
* FF5: Excellent game with one of the best class/skill systems that I have seen, allowing the player to experiment with many different combinations while not making it easy to break the game.
* FF6: Threw out FF5's system, and ended up with less interesting gameplay as a result. Also, the game is considerably more cutscene-heavy than its predecessor until later on. (Also, flying the airship could lead to motion sickness, just like later in the series). There's also some balance issues (Ultima comes to mind). The one redeeming fact is the non-linear later part of the game (well, and Gau is an interesting concept from a gameplay standpoint).
* FF7: I did not like this game, and it's so bad that I would actually anti-recommend it. Take FF6, throw out the good parts, and emphasize the bad parts more. Also, reduce the party size (which makes the game feel less epic, to be honest), and make the problem of cutscenes even worse; summons, in particular, have animations that are far longer than what I would consider unreasonably long (and the final boss has an attack with a *2 minute* animation); it's ridiculous. Balance is even worse; I look at the most powerful summon in the game and think, "who thought *that* was balanced?". Oh, and there's no non-linear portion, and it feels like the game never opens up as a result. (Even FF5 did, to some extent.) I could also mention that, as an RPG veteran by the time I played it, the game was way too easy.
* FF8 I haven't played, but it suffers from many of the problems as FF7; in addition, its systems probably make it, along with FF2, one of the worst balanced games in the series.
* FF9 feels a bit like FF4, but with more modern graphics, and a few other things from other games in the series (like the appearance of super-monsters that will kill you if you go into certain areas unprepared, but the game warns you about them).

I disagree about there being such a thing; to me, games can never be too old, particularly when they do things better than later games in the series.

Thanks, Xulima seems very good, just wanted to make sure that I don't take too long getting around the corner, ha ha. Funny that you mentioned Arcanum, I was looking at it just now. It seems an interesting game, although yeah I'd prefer newer games. But I won't discredit it completely, although it probably would make little sense as I have the Baldur's Gate games and never finished them. But I see that some people say they prefer Arcanum to BG, so maybe I should check it out. I just want a mindblowing experience, but don't we all :)

Still, that Supernova probably has to take a prize for the most over the top attack in a game. Rather cool moment the first time it happens.

If you like more turn-oriented games,then maybe:

Slay the spire- card-based rouge-like rpg.

Wargroove.- Fantasy- like advance wars game.

Banner Saga- Choose your story game with turn based battles.

The thing is, *I* can generally hande such things (exceptions apply, like Chrono Trigger's button mashing part), but it can cause problems for other players. I remember, some time ago, reading a topic from someone who was enjoying the game until an arcadey action sequence near then end, which they could not do because of some disability.

dtgreene, yeah, I would probably agree about how a really great game can't be too old. I was talking more about the graphics. Unfortunately, these do get old.

Interesting how all the things you didn't like about FF 7 and 8, I loved. The cutscenes, in my opinion, are actually a real boost to these games and gives them soul. But with some games, you just don't get into them for some reasons, that's probably what happened to you with FF 7 and 8, because these games, in my opinion, are extraordinary. But sometimes it just doesn't work. For example, I loved Persona 4, and having never played the previous one, I bought it, but forgot about it after a couple of hours. I just didn't get into it.

The FF 7 and 8 spaceship thing was an incredible experience, I spent hours roaming the world in solitude and having my mind blown away at unexpected things happening and discovering all the secret locations. I'll never forget in FF 8 I would roam around the huge plains, and sometimes catching a glimpse of a UFO whizzing by, and never understanding how the heck I would find out about it, until I finally did much later. Or just flying over a section of the ocean where I would have bet I would not have found anything, and instead an incredible battle took place. A new ability called 'throw' was gained, so I started throwing at this huge Godzilla thing, all the stuff I didn't need, but the more valuable the item, the more damage it caused. I ran out of items to throw (could not use magic anymore as I had run out of ether potions, which were very rare and expensive to find and buy), so in the end in an act of desperation I started throwing all my money at the enemy. I literally threw at it even my underwear. After 20 minutes of gruelling battle, I was half dead but alive, and I had won.

It's just these things and exciting surprises that I see a lot of modern games, lack. For example, I bought The Witcher 1 years ago, and after 3 hours of going around finding the next herb for the next diseased stranged, I just gave up. I tried so many and especially the PC ones never seem to really cut it for me. For example I played Fallout 3, Morrowind, Oblivion, even Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and Torment Planescape, but never really was blown away. The only one that stood out to me was Neverwinter Nights. Now, I would never say that Baldur's Gate is a weak game, in a hundred years. But for some reason with some games you just don't get immersed enough in them. I don't know.....I am pretty fussy. Ironically, it was FF VII who kind of set a standard that I have never really been able to

As for the spaceships in FF and motion sickness, at the time I did not have the motion sickness problem. The latter only happens with certain games when there's too much going up and down too fast. For example, I'd rather avoid a first person game like the Elder's Scrolls or something like that.

I do agree about the absurdly long spells in FF VII, though....they were just ridiculous! :) That's the problem with JRPGS, they have some real nonsense! And the story is ALWAYS nonsense. But the gameplay and the battles....wow.
Not saying that I am right, just that for some reason often it just doesn't work. For example, it was very difficult for me playing and enjoying 100 hours of FF 8 , madman style, and then go back to the graphics of FF5 or 6. But, I have no doubt the FF you mentioned is a great game. Just that the graphics are a step back from the later FFs.

And yeah, the later ones, I did not like. I completed FF X but I did not enjoy it as much as the other ones. I could not roam the world on the flying ship, they took one of the best things of the game. As for the later ones still, I literally remember buying FF XII, playing it for 45 minutes, putting it back in the case, and forget about it. One stupid thing Square Enix does, is changing the battle system to a completely different ones, in every later game. Who wants to sit in there and studying a completely new turn based system? I just want to see new moves, items, spells, summons, etc....not a contrived new system that requires an hour of study. FFXII had all these crazy lines thing there, and worst of all, had a 'politics' story. Who the heck cares about politics? We want to be swept away in a awesome world of magic and emotions, not controlling a character who's trying to run for office :)

I'm thinking I might want to check out the final battle in a speedrun. On one hand, your level will be lower than typical because you don't want to take time killing enemies for XP and AP (unless doing so saves more time than it costs); on the other hand, you want to minimize the final boss's use of this attack.

Also, I wouldn't say it's cool when you haven't saved in a while (because the game won't let you), and you are tired and just want to finish it (or reach a save point) so you can just go to bed. (Or, for that matter, if you have something else to do in real life like getting to school or work on time.)

I would say that FF5 and FF6 have better graphics than FF7 and FF8 (maybe FF9). One problem that comes up in many PSX-era Square games (including FF7-9 and SaGa Frontier 1-2) is that the graphics aren't that clear, so often you'll try taking what looks like a path only to find that the game doesn't let you go that way, causing you to get attacked (either because you took more steps in FF7-FF9, or because you weren't able to dodge the enemy in SF1 or SF2). Then, there's all the camera changes during combat, which make it harder to tell what's going on (it's especially annoying when you can't see the amount of damage an attack dealt because the camera decided not to show it). (SF2 at least makes an effort to move the camera to show damage amounts; I believe SF1 wasn't as good about this.)

Thanks for the help, friends.

Honestly, I found Throw to be rather lackluster, as all it does is damage to a single target (barring a few specific items in FF6 and maybe FF5); FF5's Mix ability is far more interesting. Just mix two items, choose a target, and you'll get an effect depending on what you mixed, and that effect could be almost anything (either good, bad, or (quite often) situation dependent). I would have preferred if they had kept Mix and got rid of Throw rather than doing what they did; Mix is so much more fun. (Oh, and if you're out of MP, just Mix a (Hi) Potion and a Turtle Shell.)

Yes. Overblown, but man, these battles were INSANE. In a good way. The music, the camera that 'flies' all around the place while the music is rocking the whole place, the characters who charge into a very special, over the top move known only to that character, while the camera focuses on the 'charging up' part, as if the character is saying: 'Enough.....I am going to kick you ass. NOW!'

Wow. These really are the things I miss. I still remember when I was exploring the ocean with the submarine, casually running into Diamond Weapon (can't remember what this huge metal Godzilla thing was called) and fighting for my life, thinking : '****, I wish I had known! I had stock up on items and upgraded armour and weapons! AAAAAAAHHHH!!!'.

And just when I was sure I was done for, after a 20 minutes gruelling battle, the funny big cat thing (can't remember the name) summons up the magic slot machine thing, and I win a jackpot, causing 'game over', making the enemy explode like an atom bomb, and winning the battle!

And then, the jackpot thing happens again in the NEXT boss, but just when I thought I struck jackpot again, one of the figures steps back into another slot!

:)

The only games that score that high in imagination, in my opinion, are the Zelda games.

But yes, the Supernova move in FFVII was TOO long. You could make yourself a cup of coffee while the thing happened

I actually consider FF7 to be a modern game; in fact, I consider FF6 to be the first modern Final Fantasy. Also, I would say that Final Fantasy 5 is better for those combat-related surprises I mentioned.

(Of course, I can't help but think about the time in Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song where I only managed to avoid a game over because the last surviving character suddenly learned an instant death attack and instantly killed the boss.)

Well, the motion sickness only happens with some games, mainly the most 'shakey', for example I can't play first person shooters, etc (but it doesn't bother me as I don't like this type of game either).

What I am saying is that I actually disagree with FF5/6 graphics being a step down from FF7/8 graphics; I think it's actually the other way around. FF5/FF6 (and FF4) have some really nice pixel art, and it's very clear what's going on; situations where I think there's a path but there isn't are quite rare (and are actually more common in FF6 than in FF5). FF7/8 (and other PSX Square RPGs), on the other hand, have low quality polygon graphics, and it feels like a step back, especially when the graphics get in the way of the gameplay.

(By the way, if you like the way the PSX games handled the perspective, it might be worth checking out SaGa Frontier 1 and 2. SF1 has some nice over-the-top graphicks, while SF2 is more subdued (with its unique style). It's also interesting that the battles, while turn-based, have some unique mechanics, particularly in regards to character growth. Finally, I should point out that SF1 and SF2 are quire different; even the settings are dissimilar (SF2 is common-magic medieval fantay, SF1 has some major science fiction elements), as is the very structure of the games.