Thank you @SKTTR, how were the other 4 games you own? Of the others you clarified, Vahalla Knights and Sukura Wars seem to be what I'd probably choose. Which of these two would you say is the most rounded choice to fit my taste?

I don't know your taste. Eldar Saga and Sakura Wars are totally different from each other.

Sakura Wars is a mix of two styles of gameplay: One is forming relationships (character development) with the girls you work with by answering multiple choice questions and doing different tasks and/or choosing certain places to go to while having time off work. You got some freedom (only limited by the areas you've unlocked), and depending on what you do you get to know different personal stuff about the characters. Some chapters vary enormously depending on your decisions. For the first playthrough I recommend just playing yourself and don't worry too much about the mistakes you do (some mistakes can be good in the end). The other gameplay style is when you are at work: strategic roundbased battle. It's very different from everything else in the genre I had known so far. I was scared that this part would be lame, but it's pretty good, always throwing something new and interesting at you.

Eldar Saga is a long action RPG with a skill system reminiscent of PC-RPG's. The skill system might be the best part of it as it is just addicting to level up your character and distribute skill points to stuff you want. If you know PC-RPG's you know what to expect: You can change jobs (Fighter, Thief, Priest, Bard, etc.) in the city hub and learn their skills; they got quite a bunch of useful and interesting stuff that enhances your character so you likely want to learn something from all jobs to have a wellrounded char. There's also a weapon/item forgery that is kinda deep. Grinding is actually very rewarding as you can not only choose the skills you want to upgrade on the go, but also the stats (attack, defense, luck, etc.) Later on in the game - you can also have other races (you start with a human). Also, there are 20 online quests (with friendcodes) for up to 4 players.

That was a basic rundown. Any specifics you want to know? Personally I got each game for 19.99. They were worth it. I'm happy with these 2 games. I'm happy with Fragile Dreams (also 19.99) and Dragon Quest Swords (14.99) too. They're all nice.

Pick what you want! For a good price they come all recommended anyway.

Thanks so much SKTTR, I'm pretty sure Eldar Saga fits the bill. I'll let you know how I like it when I see you on nintendolife. (<:

Hey Waltz if Samurai Warriors is about Japanese history, is the story the same for all 3 games, if not whats different.

Hey Waltz if Samurai Warriors is about Japanese history, is the story the same for all 3 games, if not whats different.

Hey @SKTTR, you mentioned Eldar Saga has 20 additional online quests. How does the multiplayer online function? Are the online quests long and how enjoyable were they for you? I really like the online multiplayer concept in an rpg, do you think I might be better off with Monster Hunter Tri. Or is the online play completely dead?

As I wrote earlier, the online in Eldar Saga is friendcode-only (like Animal Crossing) but also region-locked (US and EU can't play together) - that might have something to do with the game being published by different companies in different regions, just like the name change (Valhalla Knights in NA, Eldar Saga in EU) to further differentiate the regional versions from each other.

The online quests work in the same way as the offline quests, just that you can run around and fight together with up to 4 people. The online is not dead if you can arrange a match. There is no region search function. You have to host it all yourself like a LAN game.

Of course Monster Hunter Tri has MUCH better online in every regard: No friendcodes, chat support (USB keyboard and Wii speak), and choosing "server rooms" yourself. In Eldar Saga you have to host your own room, and then tell people you exchanged friendcodes with to join it... and you have only a limited set of default sentences to communicate with others.
But MHTri isn't a RPG where you get better by fighting - it's more like an action game where you kill monsters and collect their scales, horns, fangs, hide: With it you can upgrade armor and weapons. Your character stays the same weak noob all the time. In Eldar Saga it's all about grinding, skills, stats and getting better equipment. In MHTri it's all about just getting better equipment.

Would you say Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga is one of the best rpgs on Wii? Or are there better choices available?

Would you recommend Xenoblade Chronicles?
What kind of person would like a game like that?

Xenoblade chronicles isn't out until the 19th August but I think it looks like it will be the GOTY. Its an action-rpg and it sounds like a massive game, I've heard it takes around 70 hours to complete but over 100 if you do everything in the game and that everywhere you see is a place you will eventually be able to reach. There will be monsters to fight all around the gameworld and to go into a fight with them you can just walk up to them and the battle pallet will appear at the bottom of the screen with various options, you can also just press a button to use your sword. You can have up to two other party members fighting with you which are controlled by the AI. Also, It has traditional rpg elements like towns and dungeons.

The story is that there were two gods called Bionis and Mechonis and you see them fighting at the beginning of the game and one of them wields a sword called Monado (the sword on the front cover of the game). Many years later those two gods became two planets with the same names and are fighting in a war. You start off in this war where you play as a party of characters different to the ones you will be playing as for most of the game as this section acts sort of like a tutorial. Then many years the main game takes place where the war is finally over (I think). I've heard that the rest of the story is very good with many twists in it and I've heard positive things about the characters as well as that there is no melodrama. It also has a fantastic soundtrack.

I know it's not out yet, anyways, it sounds like a great game for me. I adore wide open worlds with a great amount of play-time. As you stated, there's not many weeks 'til it comes out, and I'll be ready to waste some beautiful cash. :/ Thanks for your post.

Nevermind SKTTR I'll be finding out for myself here shortly. Ha! I just ordered a brand new copy for only $12.73 at Amazon.com, well $17.71 with shipping charges. I hope it's as good as it sounds @SKTTR, but either way it was a killer buy. Anyone else have a chance to play this? (<:

I was stating facts explaining the game. The only time I let my personal opinion influence my words was when it came to the cost, and I'm still standing by my point: I think for 19.99 it is a good, deep and pretty long action RPG.
I'm just one person though. You should always read reviews with different opinions and watch some footage videos too.

PS. I heard people were annoyed by the footsteps sound (it is too loud). I don't know if it's different in the American version but in the European version you can turn down the volume of the sound effects, so I had no problem with it. I can see it being annoying if there's no such option in the American version, especially because the soundtrack is really good.

@SKTTR What type of overall rating would you personally say it deserves? And roughly how many hours of gameplay does it consist of? Why do you think the shipping & handling was so much? I believe the US version has the sound effect option as well, but it only allows for two player online co-op? Oh well there'll probably be enough difficulty just finding one other player. And the game appears as though it's worth every bit of my $17.71. (<:

I spent 40 hours on the first episode which is merely an intro to the real plot. You'll have to make a decision at the end that heavily influences the second episode and the rest of the game. I'm 10 hours into the second episode, and it seems it's just as long, or even a little bit longer than the first. (Can't say if there's a third epsiode.)

To make just one character decent enough to finish all quests and beat an episode's final boss you're likely to spend 40~50 hours just on that episode, and just with that one character. You still have lots to do to have a maxed out superchar, with all the skills, stats and items you want, and you will most likely have touched only 1 or 2 of the "unlockable" races.

My ratings are always influenced by the price of the game. I think that's logical.
It's a 8/10 if you got it for 19.99 or cheaper. A 7/10 if you paid full price.

It all depends on your priorities of what an RPG needs to have, but for the hundreds of hours of playtime, and the pretty good Zelda-inspired soundtrack, it already deserves an 8 imo.

Yeah, it could have better graphics: The game appears to be darker than other Wii games so you have to change the brightness of your tv, and the animations of the in-game cutscenes aren't great - so that's one minus point - but it isn't that bad. Some towns look really good and all in all this game has some good wasteland atmosphere.

It could have better online, so that's another minus point - but at least it has some kind of online. It's rare for RPGs on the Wii (only MH3 and FFCC: Echoes of Time and later The Last Story) having online.

I'm a little nitpicky with my last rant, but I wish the inventory was bigger (I'm always playing hunter&collector style).

So, yo, 8/10 seems to be right if you're into RPGrinders.

That's good to hear @SKTTR, because I'm not that big on high def. graphics anyways. As long as good gameplay is present, I'll be satisfied. I meen I do expect at least some superiority to a Gamecube title. A hundred hours of gameplay in it self should be enough, but I hope the majority of the hundred hours isn't spent simply traversing the expansive landscape. I wonder why the US cover art lacks color and is so drab compared to other versions? (<:

Time to finally give Okami a little 2 hour play time. Still, I can't imagine myself investing 40 hours into this visully unique trippy little adventure.

But i still want to get a taste of it before i toss it out the window. lol

Y U NO Like Waveboy?

@WaveBoy I thought about purchasing Okami, but it's not really my style. Is Arc Rise Fantasia as good as it looks? Hey @SKTTR, are you sure your EU copy allows for 4 player online co-op? That sucks for us in the US, our version only allows for 2. Now I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with the regional differential. )<:

No, I'm not sure about that, sorry. But from the looks of the online hub that was just my assumption. I guess I played too much Monster Hunter Tri. I just checked again, and yes, the game is 2p only. Bummer.
But you're right on the part that it is hard to find another player anyway, so, with only 2 players you have at least better chances to experience the full game the way it was designed.