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RPGs where you can talk to animals!?!?

Arsene Lupin

Novice
Joined
Dec 17, 2013
Messages
28
Yeah, I know this sort of thread is super-annoying.
But I started talking about this yesterday, so now I feel the need to try, try, try and remember.

A long, long time ago I remember playing an RPG that I absolutely loved. I don't remember anything about it. It could have been 2D, it could have been 3D, it could have been Japanese, it could have been Western. I don't know. The only thing I can remember is that there was a "skill" in the game unique to the player character that allowed you to speak with animals.

AND IT WAS AWESOME!

They'd offer their perspective on what was going on locally, sometimes delivering gossip about NPCs (or condemnation), sometimes they'd just be really weird and you'd get this spiffy perspective of dog or cat psychology.

So: let's list them out, if we can. What specific RPGs can you think of where you can speak with animals? (Specifically, with a unique "abilitiy" that only/mostly belongs to player-character).

.....

The only game I know of for certain that has speaking-to-animals in it is Divinity: Original Sin. I think it might have been in Divinity II, too, via the mind-reading mechanic, and given the inspiration of the former, possibly one or more of the Ultima games as well. (I've tried to get into Ultima, but haven't been able to yet).
 

Baron Dupek

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
1,870,765
What is this? Did I logged into neoFAG forum or somerthing? So much strange threads...
 

poetic codex

Augur
Joined
Aug 14, 2010
Messages
292
Neverwinter Nights 1 had a skill called "animal empathy" that only rangers and druids could use. In Shadows of Unrentide and (to a lesser extent) in Hordes of the Underdark, the skill was quite fun to use, and offered you unique dialogue and help that classes without Animal Empathy never got to see. I remember a very cool scenario involving a rat in HOTU that I only got to experience because of that skill.
 

Tytus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 9, 2011
Messages
3,596
Location
Mazovia
Neverwinter Nights 1 had a skill called "animal empathy" that only rangers and druids could use. In Shadows of Unrentide and (to a lesser extent) in Hordes of the Underdark, the skill was quite fun to use, and offered you unique dialogue and help that classes without Animal Empathy never got to see. I remember a very cool scenario involving a rat in HOTU that I only got to experience because of that skill.

If I remember correctly in NWN 1 you could also talk to forest spirit that was a dear in the OC.
 

mondblut

Arcane
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
22,205
Location
Ingrija
There was a cat you could talk to in Ravenloft: Stone Prophet using the ranger's skill or a special magic item, to get a certain key.

Weren't there talking panthers/lynxes/whatever in Ultima Underworld 2? The dimension which was a castle not unlike Britain itself, but aligned to the Guardian.
 

V_K

Arcane
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
7,714
Location
at a Nowhere near you
In Amberstar you could learn animal language, and could talk to them like to any other NPCs.
It wasn't PC-exclusive though, as you were taught it by a pretty average girl who's cat you saved.
 

April

Educated
Joined
Apr 9, 2013
Messages
53
In Golden Sun 1 and 2 you could use a mind read skill to talk to animals. JRPG though.
 

Karellen

Arcane
Joined
Jan 3, 2012
Messages
327
Wild ARMS? One of the unique puzzle items in the game you'd eventually get was a magic staff you could bop animals with, which would let you talk to them. It was rarely useful, but every chicken, dog, horse and so forth in the gameworld had their unique lines, some of which was pretty funny.
 

Bio Force Ape

Arcane
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Messages
3,427
Neverwinter Nights 1 had a skill called "animal empathy" that only rangers and druids could use. In Shadows of Unrentide and (to a lesser extent) in Hordes of the Underdark, the skill was quite fun to use, and offered you unique dialogue and help that classes without Animal Empathy never got to see. I remember a very cool scenario involving a rat in HOTU that I only got to experience because of that skill.

That was actually a nice touch.

Way back in the day I played a druid in my PnP group and it was fun to talk with animals and trees. "Hey squirrel, did you see where those orcs we're going?" Most CRPGs never bother and make druids a dude in a green robe who can zap lightning.
 

Crichton

Prophet
Joined
Jul 7, 2004
Messages
1,210
It can't possibly be the game you're referring to since it almost never impacted anything, but in NWN2 (like NWN1 as previously mentioned), druids and rangers get flavor text from talking to many animals. It's purely cosmetic save in one instance and in that case you have an NPC druid available to speak to the animal if the PC can't.
 

eric__s

ass hater
Developer
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Messages
2,301


Crusader of Centy is a Zelda-like RPG where God punishes humans for building the Tower of Babel by making it so they can only speak to animals and not each other. You go around getting animal companions that have different abilities and trying to reverse God's curse. It's pretty good, one of the best Genesis games.
 

Fowyr

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
7,671
Exile. Lizards with their "hoho".
 

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