Computer rpg? :| We really need to name that?! Oh dear...

Yeah, that's when they didn't need computers to play them, long ago. The C just means we're not talking about pen and paper RPGs which are probably more varied and unique in the first place.

Anyway, my answer won't be all that unique: Torment, Bloodlines, Albion, Arcanum, Gothic, Arx Fatalis. Most unique JRPGs (:P) I've played: Chrono Trigger, Okami and Vagrant Story. Freeware: Space Funeral and Die Reise ins All (sadly not available in English and probably hard to translate).

People who play pen and paper often care about this distinction. Most others don't.

So why is it I have only heard this silly thing now?! The only people I know are lifeless, fat D&D fans (Im not being mean, thats what they are...). We're on a video game forum, who would assume we were talking about a board game?!

Why does it bother you? Some people are just used to calling them that.

Knightmare was unique in that my pirated copy crashed whenever the character got poisoned. When I was young I saw that as a challenge rather than a nuisance.

I also vaguely remember a game for the Amiga of this style (3D flick screen) where you could see the view of four characters and move them separately to solve puzzles which required simultaneous actions. While unique it was apparently less fun and so left less of an impression on my memory.

It's because you probably don't spend enough time on the internet reading about games.
For shame, darthspudius, fo shame.

All these years I've been thinking it meant Cenital RPG. And now I see the word "cenital" doesn't exist in english. It means something like "above the head" in spanish. You know, the perspective that CRPGs have.
Today I learned something :D.

By the way, my favorites are Dragon Age Origins and Planescape Torment.

Yes, the SNES was heaven for me.
Lufia, Lunar ohh so many great games.

But this is about crpg, so the games that i loved here were the Gold Boxed (and the Silver Boxed) D&D from SSI.
After them Fallout and its predecessor Wasteland.
One game i should mention too The Bards Tale. It drove me nuts with his spinner. Never ever will i forget the
sentence...You face death itself in form of....

I'll not repeat already mentioned games so I'll give you a vastly unknown cRPG: Entomorph - Plague of the Darkfall
It's definitely not top quality game and sadly it's very linear. Nevertheless it is unique. There is a very unusual way to level up - you gradually mutate and transform into a huge insect. Each transform makes you more powerful but obviously you are losing your humanity.

As a kid, I'd say Lands of Lore 2. At the time I played it, I'd never seen a game world that felt so alive.

Then Might & Magic 6 and 7 just for the fun of flying aound and dropping meteor showers on 50 enemies at the same time.

Later Gothic 1 & 2 (I discovered them on GOG).

Well since the question was unique, I'd say Birthright: The Gorgons Alliance and Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace. Both are anything but your standard RPG fare. Especially since Birthright tries to bring Lords of the Realms and the old gold box style games under one roof. Honorary mentions go out to Space 1889, though I only played that a little.

Isn't that more like an aRPG than a cRPG? That's my impression of it but then I quit playing before the game's story takes a hold as I read when you've played a while it changes the game.

As for the most unique I would have to look through my game list.

Thank you very much for that insult....
Not that it's actually true, but expect to get a few down-reps for that one.


Anyway, the term CRPG has been in continuous use since the 80's. It dropped a bit in popularity during the late 90's, but started to rise in popularity again somewhere between 05-07. If you look around, you'll see that it is semi-common that people use it. If you look at older gaming magazines (for home computers, not consoles, older meaning pre 95) you'll find that it is about as common that they say CRPG as RPG. Pre 90, it's even more common.


CRPG is just a catch all term for all computer (& console) RPGs, so ARPGs would be a sub-genre to CRPG.

Keef The Thief!

Its an unusual game with strange humour and weird game goals, you really need to steal stuff. Its has many stats and amassing wealth is fun because there is good stuff to buy in stores (or steal). There is even a complex magic system for which you can steal ingredients. The combat is abstract realtime action, but works amazingly well, even today its still fun.
The game aged really well because it is so unique.

Edit: The manual and box are funny,too, the creators put some ironic things in there, stupid pictures of themselves and stuff.