RPG Suggestions for 9-Year Old Boy?

[secretary]

Yes, another gift suggestion thread. 'Tis the season.

I accidentally introduced my youngest brother to WOW and he lovedit. I can't get him that for a variety of reasons, but I want to get him something similar for Christmas and I'd like some suggestions.

Little Brother: Hyperactive weaponry aficionado with below average reading skills.

Platforms: Gamecube, DS, PC

Restrictions: Parents are conservative, so nothing that can be be interpreted as encouraging devil worship. IE, NO DIABLO. :(

Also, he's 9. No graphic violence or adult content.

He's played Zelda.

I'm worried that I'm searching for nonexistent game, a very simple, half-way decent RPG with swords and monsters and minimal dialogue...but I figured if such a game exists, surely someone here knows where I can find it.

[Njal]

Fate.

[Rob_Merritt]

My 7 year old has been playing Fate recently as well and likes it. He liked Titan Quest quite a bit as well but that might be too graphic for you tastes.

[cliffski]

Cute knight?

http://www.hanakogames.com/knight.shtml

[Jon_Danger]

Tales of Symphonia (might be a bit too hardcore)

The Final Fantasy III remake for DS

Ummm....

My Pokemans, let me show you them?

[SpoofyChop]

Gamecube: Paper Mario

DS: Mario and Luigi Partners in Time

[unbongwah]

What, no one's recommended Paper Mario (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/920182.asp) yet? It's only 10 bucks now (http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Mario-The-Thousand-Year-Door/dp/B0002ILS1K/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1197388144&sr=8-1).

EDIT: beaten by the SpoofyChop!

[RickH]

Pokemon, any of the Mario & Luigi RPG's, Dragon Quest Rocket Slime, Fire Emblem.

[Lokust]

pokemon or rocket slime

[Lee Johnson]

Paper Mario, seconded. And Pokemon.

[DrCrypt]

Planescape: Torment.

[delirium]

Final Fantasy 6, available on GBA, is a great one.

[Robert Sharp]

Mario and Luigi, brothers in time is good for the Gameboy.

[DeathMonkey]

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is great. Rocket Slime is great fun as well. (All for the DS)

[Chowhound]

Animal Crossing!

[secretary]

Thanks guys, some good suggestions here. Fate in particular looks exactly like what I was looking for, but I'm not sure how to gift wrap a game that has to be downloaded. :)

Rocket Slime looks good too, but how hard are the puzzles?

[Demon G Sides]

Mass Effect, duh.

[Iron Xides]

If he has trouble reading, he should probably be exposed to more reading material (near his level of comprehension), not less.

Unfortunately I can't provide any specific advice for that.

[Chowhound]

FATE has a retail version:
http://www.amazon.com/Encore-11140-Fate/dp/B000HLP5W0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1197409111&sr=8-1

[LesJarvis]

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is a first rate suggestion. I was going to say Chrono Trigger, but the only way he could play that on the platforms he has would be through emulation on the PC.

[Moggraider]

Earthbound. It was my first RPG and I was hooked forever.

[Robert Sharp]

The retail version of Fate is also at Wal-Mart. I saw it there the other day.

[Twosixteen]

Temple of Elemental Evil

[John E. Motion]

Try Kult: Heretic Kingdoms, It's kinda like diablo (eg. a whole lot of mouse clicking) only without the devil stuff. Ummn, just ignore the heretic part of title, it has something to do with the baddies being anti-religion I think. Swords, monsters and practically no dialog, at least for an rpg if I remember right.
Ultima 7 might work too, but it's got bit a writing.

[Draikin]

Fallout.

[Desslock]

Something like Diablo is probably ideal, but if that's out because of the subject matter, one of the clones like Dungeon Siege 2 or Titan Quest.

[Alan Au]

You could try Warcraft 3, but that might not be RPG-ish enough. How about KotOR or KotOR2? I mean, hey, lightsabers!

- Alan

[Jasper]

Okami, hands down (even if it's "not a RPG", strictly speaking).

It's an excellent Game along the lines of Zelda; I loved it, my 7 year old loves it, and it's an excellent way to encourage reading. Plus you generally get XP for helping people/animals out, rather than slaying -- in sharp contrast to most RPGs.

Ack, nevermind. Okami is PS2, not Game Cube. Uh, get him the other Zelda (Windwaker or Twilight Princess) I guess? Paper Mario would be alright too. Most of the PC games that encourage reading aren't really suitable for 9 year olds. For the DS, perhaps something SRPG, like Fire Emblem?

[Demon G Sides]

Majesty, as well!

[malkav11]

Try Kult: Heretic Kingdoms, It's kinda like diablo (eg. a whole lot of mouse clicking) only without the devil stuff. Ummn, just ignore the heretic part of title, it has something to do with the baddies being anti-religion I think. Swords, monsters and practically no dialog, at least for an rpg if I remember right.
Ultima 7 might work too, but it's got bit a writing.

The baddies? No, Kult has *you* playing an Inquisitor working to stamp out the last traces of religion. Methinks that's not going to fly with religiously conservative parents.

[mrkilowatt]

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker for DS

[Dave Long]

Thanks guys, some good suggestions here. Fate in particular looks exactly like what I was looking for, but I'm not sure how to gift wrap a game that has to be downloaded. :)

Rocket Slime looks good too, but how hard are the puzzles?
Rocket Slime is easily playable by a 9-year old. The tank battles are awesome, too.

[Rob_Merritt]

Animal Crossing!

Kids should stay far away from animal crossing. I don't know about the gamecube verson but the DS version has horrible unreadable grammar.

[secretary]

If he has trouble reading, he should probably be exposed to more reading material (near his level of comprehension), not less.

He's exposed to plenty of books and he has plenty of people encouraging him to read, but reading just isn't fun for him. I'm certainly not going to force the literacy issue through the medium of video games.

That's what comic books are for...

Thank you to those of you who showed me where I can find the retail version of Fate. I really like what I've seen of it.

[theKevin]

When I was reading this thread, Sid Meier's Pirates came to mind, thought that's more of an strategy game than a RPG>

[Greg Kasavin]

Haven't seen it come up, so I'll say Fire Emblem for the Game Boy Advance (the DS can play it, too). Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones is a natural follow-up. If I had a smart 9-year-old, it's the game I'd give him (or her).

I was playing Ultima II and Ultima IV when I was 9--I think most kids can handle pretty sophisticated games. From a story standpoint, Fire Emblem is mature while still being totally kid-friendly; as a movie it'd be rated PG. Unlike most games, Fire Emblem makes life and death out to be a pretty big deal since characters permanently die if you don't protect them. It's also very reading-intensive and very well-written, so I think it could hook a kid who thinks he doesn't like to read.

From a gameplay standpoint, it's an interesting and addictive strategy RPG that can be played for minutes or hours at a time. It's relatively easy to get into. If the kid got too hooked on it, he could be taught to ration his playing time into reasonable chunks. Not that I know anything about that.

When I played through Fire Emblem, I found myself thinking it would be my favorite game ever if I was 9 years old (it's up there anyway). That's why I wanted to chime in here.

[Gendal]

I was playing Ultima II and Ultima IV when I was 9--I think most kids can handle pretty sophisticated games.
I was just going to say Ultima IV, it's what I was playing at that age, and I don't think I have ever been that entranced by a game since. Begging for the game, doing a boat load of chores, and finally getting the retail box was a pretty memorable experience for me.

Of course it probably wouldn't work out the same for him since I was heavily anticipating the game and unless he has been living in a cave somewhere the graphics will probably be hard to overlook. I guess the point is 9 year olds are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Think of them as gigantic fucking sponges likely to absorb anything and everything. U4 is just a good RPG to learn from.

[secretary]

When I was reading this thread, Sid Meier's Pirates came to mind, thought that's more of an strategy game than a RPG>

Heh. When he was little he used to sit on my lap while I played Pirates. When I recover from the nostalgia, I really should consider the fact that he's old enough to play that by himself. Good game.

Fire Emblem is also a good thought, but I think all the dialogue would frustrate him. I like to read, and I thought there were too many words in that game.