A title like "The coolest RPG" only works if I trust the maker of the video to only use it to refer it to RPGs and not action games with RPG elements; even still, if the game is plot-heavy, it might very well be a no even if it is an actual RPG.

To me, when it comes to CRPGs, classic and isometric aren't really compatible; when I think of classic CRPGs, I think of games like Wizardry, Dragon Quest, and Wasteland, none of which are isometric. In fact, I actually prefer a simple overhead view to an isometric view. To me, isometric games started becoming common around the time that the games would no longer be considered "classic" the way I see it, plus there's the problem of having to constantly move diagonally, which is rather cumbersome, or worse, having to rely on pathfinding for all movement *shakes fist at Baldur's Gate*.

Also, real-time-with-pause combat is a dealbreaker for me; I prefer the games to be either turn-based RPGs or full action games (possibly with RPG elements, but please don't call them RPGs).

Edit: Sarafan, I think you meant to say "its" rather than "it's" (which is shorthand for "it is"); I notice you made this mistake twice in your short post.

Gameplay videos!

Mood* (or *appetite*) and price.
Or "classic"**

*Mood consist of many things with varying priorities. It may be that I really want to play something of that setting or genre again. Or I read something about the game which made me want to buy it to support the dev. Or: I tend to compensate times when I don't get much time playing games with buying games (makes a lot of sense, I know... backlog ftw.). The lower the price, the better some discount, the higher the temptation.

**When old cherished classics which I either already have somewhere on disk or had as "external backup" back in the day or "always wanted to play that" many years ago I almost always instabuy. Price is usually not an issue with those.

I strongly believe that in the late 90s the term "classic" was redefined. These were the times when most of the Infinity Engine and both Fallout games were released. It was a new quality in cRPG story telling and I think these games deserve the "classic" label, especially after all those years. But you're quite right. The series you mentioned are older, so they deserve to be classics as well. That's why I mentioned about isometric classics. :)

These games have flaws, I do not deny that, but the formula appeals to me somehow. It wasn't always like that. 20 years ago I didn't like cRPG games at all. Fallout and Planescape Torment changed this permanently. :)

Actually I like both combat systems.

I'm not sure whether I've made a mistake here. The author asked: "What convinces you to check out and then maybe buy a game?". I replied "It's genre what convinces me". I was referring not to "a game", but to "what convinces me". But I might be wrong, so thank you for pointing this out. :)

Yes, Mood, I forgot to mention that one, and it can play a significant part.

I've been known to buy a game on a more recent sale, that was exactly the same price on an earlier sale, that I had rejected then as not being cheap enough yet. The only difference really was my mood or appetite for that game.

I guess, that like many things, music in particular, they can gestate in your mind and feelings, and so over time build up a bigger desire for them.
They can be good.

But the problem with them, is they take up so much time, and I have many other interests in my life.
Not to mention the risk of spoilers or filling your head with crap and or crappy people.

That's why I watch the ones with NO COMMENTARY!

I suspect a game called "The coolest RPG" would not have a plot worth mentioning, which is the whole point I wanted to make. I don't care if it's an actual RPG or not, I could just as well have used "Amazing Adventure Game" or "Super-Duper Platformer" etc. as an example. Anything that spells laziness, lack of creativity, lame humor, or a lack of faith that the game is good enough to deserve an individual, memorable name.

Helps a lot if there's a demo, which sadly is a rarity these days

I found that real-time-with-pause combat has the worst aspects of turn-based and real-time combat while lacking both the rhythm of turn-based and the fluidity of real-time.

fluid combat is only possible if you let it go. Meaning, it's real time *with* pause, so it should be treated like one.

As I said, the game lacks fluidity, due to both having a pause and the game being designed with the assumption that the player will use it. In any non-trivial combat, the player will pause a lot (or the game will automatically pause at irregular intervals due to the auto-pause feature), and as a result, the combat doesn't feel fluid. Furthermore, because the pauses happen at irregular intervals, the game lacks any sort of rhythm.

I find that combat is more fun and enjoyable if either:
* Combat is turn-based, resulting in a clear rhythm between the command and action phases. You enter your commands, and then they get executed along with enemy actions, then you enter your commands again. This gives the player time to think, and it avoids the problem with combat "running away" if the player doesn't pause in time; plus, it's easier to see everything that happens.
* Combat is fully real-time, with the player controlling only one character. In this case, the game is an action game, and has the fluidity of such games. (With that said, such games should still offer pause, just in case the player needs to take a break for a bit (for example, to go to the bathroom, because the doorbell rang, or because dinner's ready; it just wouldn't be something that is factored into the design and balance of the game.)

The main advantage of real-time combat is its dynamic pace. Of course it's also more chaotic. The controls aren't as precise as in turn-based combat. Pillars of Eternity is a good example. A lot of the spells couldn't be activated outside of combat and as a result the game's combat system was quite chaotic. However at the same time it was also very lively and dynamic. After finishing PoE1, I played Tyranny. Despite that its combat system is also real-time, it has a much slower pace. While playing it I missed the tempo of PoE1. Currently I'm playing turn-based Wasteland 2 and I like it as well. :)

What you treat as lack of rhythm I call chaotic. The rhythm is still there as you repeatably use certain abilities and spells throughout the whole game. Also you usually pause and unpause the game in more or less regular moments. It's not as regular as turn-based, but it's faster and more dynamical (at least when we're talking about the results of your actions).

That sort of chaos makes things hard to follow, and in my opinion, less fun.

I'd rather play a strictly turn based game or an action game than this sort of thing.

Also, turn-based combat can be fast; see, for example, some versions of some of the Dragon Quest games, for example. (Remakes of earlier games in the series come to mind here; DQ8 and later don't do so well.) Also, roguelikes can be fast paced while still being turn-based, particularly if the player isn't constantly stopping to think.

The sort of chaos that is more interesting to me is chaotic procedural generation of the game, preferably in ways that dramatically change the gameplay, like in randomizers of many classic console games. I am thinking something like a roguelike, except that permadeath is thrown away in echange for removing any pretense of the game being particularly fair. In other words, I would rather have a game where an early game enemy can instantly kill the player (because it was generated with a deadly attack or is a seriously out-of-depth monster) than one where the player dying is the end of the game.

Ah yes, the 'Dead Island' effect.

For me probably Genre first. Turn-based really turns my head. Anything that advertises Action immediately loses a ton of my interest (even though I do play some action based games).

s̶t̶y̶l̶e̶ Subject matter as well. Love zombies. Hate demons. Stuff like that.

I do find reviews on Steam useful, usually to see if the commonly mentioned negatives would impact my enjoyment too much.