Top 100 RPGs of All Time - IGN.com (2024)

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Role-playing games have a long and fascinating history. From its humble tabletop origins, the RPG has grown and evolved over the years into the most dominant and ambitious game genre, boasting a catalog as critically acclaimed as it is diverse. The best RPGs embrace a rich storytelling tradition as well as deep and engaging gameplay to create universes that are as exciting to explore as they are thrilling to quest and do battle in. And we’ve sunk hundreds — sometimes even thousands — of hours immersing ourselves in those incredible universes, whether that be stunning high fantasy kingdoms full of knights and dragons, exciting sci-fi realms brimming with possibilities, or even extraordinary versions of our own world.

But which RPGs are the best of the best? Which RPGs were influential enough to lead the rest, or bold enough to question the mold in new and exciting ways? Which RPGs gave us the richest characters, worlds, and stories — experiences we’ll never forget? IGN got its biggest RPG fans in a room to find out. Below are the Top 100 RPGs of All Time.

The main elements we examined:

Story (Is it compelling, well-written, or uniquely told?)
Presentation (Is its sound, music, and/or visual style particularly strong?)
Character progression (Is there satisfying decision-making when it comes to building a character, choosing a combat style, or making other decisions in the game world?)
Combat (Is it fun? Innovative? Does it ask the player to make interesting choices?)
Systems (Is there an interesting dynamic between its various meta systems?)

Because the RPG is a particularly diverse and hard-to-define genre, it was important for us to nail down exactly what qualifies as an “RPG.”

For the purposes of this list, we defined an RPG as a game that includes:

Persistent character progression (including player-exposed stats)
Combat that is a significant part of the experience
Choices and consequences
Story
Exploration
Character building and customization

EverQuest

Developer Sony Online Entertainment

Release 1999

100

Chris Reed

It wasn’t the first MMO, but EverQuest was the first to bring the genre to widespread popularity and become a household name. Featuring a gorgeous open world, populated with fantasy creatures and real-life players alike, it gave gamers an expansive chunk of real estate to explore for days, months, and years on end. And once you reached the level cap, you could roll a new kind of character with a different play style to tide yourself over until the next expansion arrived. The MMO genre eventually evolved and branched off in many directions, leaving EverQuest feeling rooted in the past. But that doesn’t take away from the memories EverQuest created, or the impact it had on the industry.

Did you know?

Because EverQuest seemed to inspire addictive behavior, it earned the nickname EverCrack.
In 2002, the BBC reported that EverQuest was the 77th wealthiest country in the world, based on its virtual currency.

Wizardry 8

Developer Sir-Tech

Release 2001

Chris Reed

RPG franchises don’t get much older than Wizardry, a series that kicked off back in 1981. The final game, Wizardry 8, launched 20 years later. It mixes sci-fi trappings with traditional fantasy fare, so you have a smattering of guns and aliens alongside swords and spells. One of the best things about Wizardry 8 is its robust character creation tools. You can choose among 11 different races, ranging from Humans and Elves to Faeries, Mooks, and Hobbits. Layer on a choice of 15 classes, and you end up with a stunning number of combinations to try in your party. Unlike The Elder Scrolls, which offers similar character options, Wizardry 8 lets you customize six party members instead of just one.

Did you know?

After struggling to find a traditional publisher, Sir-Tech partnered with gaming retailer Electronics Boutique to publish the game.
It was published a whole nine years after its predecessor, Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant, from 1992.
Depicted approaching enemies for the first time in the series, instead of random pop-up encounters.

Titan Quest

Developer Iron Lore Entertainment

Release 2006

Chris Reed

Titan Quest is often shrugged off as just another Diablo clone. And while there’s something to that argument, it also ignores the interesting things Titan Quest adds to the formula to create a wholly enjoyable action RPG. Instead of a well-trodden fantasy setting, Titan Quest looks to myths for inspiration. To that end, it has you travel across China, Egypt, and Greece, slaying beasts likes centaurs and gorgons, while collecting ever more powerful gear. The gameplay is highly customizable, thanks to its deep class and mastering systems, which provide plenty of replay value for anyone looking to try different combat styles. And when you finish the game, you can make your very own campaign, thanks to a robust level editor.

Did you know?

The idea for Titan Quest arose when game designer Brian Sullivan was working on Age of Empires and thought it would be fun to make a game based in Greek mythology.
Its opening cutscene was created by Blur Studio, also responsible for the cinematic trailers for Arkham City, Arkham Origins, and Arkham Knight.

Fable II

Developer Lionhead Studios

Release 2008

Chris Reed

It’s safe to say Peter Molyneux’s games often fail to live up to the hype he sparks for them. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case with Fable II, a delightful action RPG that offers players a bit of nearly everything. The game weaves an epic story that spans your character’s life from childhood on. Combat feels like a fluid dance, thanks to the melee, magic, and ranged attacks you can string together with ease. To top it off, the whole thing is rife with humor and charm. So whether you want to amass a real estate empire or simply woo a spouse, you can. And let’s not forget the real star of the show: your lovable canine companion.

Did you know?

PETA gave Fable II their Proggy award for being the most animal-friendly game of 2008.
Set 500 years after the first Fable.

Torchlight II

Developer Runic Games

Release 2012

Chris Reed

When done right, dungeon crawlers create a sense of momentum as you hack through monsters, pick up the loot they drop, equip any high-level gear, and move on to do it again. This is a gameplay loop Torchlight II completely nails. Story and character tend to fall to the wayside here, but you’re too busy wreaking ultra-violence and collecting shiny new things to care. The four character classes are stocked with skills that are satisfying to use, the environments pulse with color, and playing co-op with friends makes it even more of a chaotic joy to play. The craving for loot is real, and Torchlight II delivers it in the best way.

Did you know?

Two of Runic Games’ founding members worked on Diablo and Diablo II.
Its cinematic sequences were produced by Don't Starve developer Klei Entertainment.

Pillars of Eternity

Developer Obsidian Entertainment

Release 2015

Chris Reed

Pillars of Eternity excels on any number of fronts, but its dialog and vocal performances are among its strongest suits. That’s a good thing, too, because one adventure through this Baldur’s Gate-like RPG spans dozens of hours. And many of those hours are spent chatting with a variety of compelling characters. Making things even more interesting is that your dialog options depend on your character’s stats. If you’ve pumped points into Might, for instance, you may be able to get vital information by using aggressive posturing. Then again, it could backfire, leaving you worse off than before. Throw in an deep tactical battle system, and you’re looking at a game that satisfies on multiple levels.

Did you know?

At the time, it was the highest-funded Kickstarter game ($3.9m), surpassed since by Torment: Tides of Numenera, Bloodstained, and Shenmue 3.
A number of the NPCs were named and designed by Kickstarter backers who pledged $1,000 or more.
Its soundtrack was inspired by the music of Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate.

Front Mission 3

Developer Square

Release 2000

Chris Reed

If you’re in the mood for a strategy RPG about giant mechs, Front Mission 3 has you covered — twice. That’s because there are basically two games on the disc. Your path is determined early on by a seemingly innocuous decision. Help a friend with a delivery, and you’ll go down the “Emma” path. Stay behind, and you’ll see the “Alisa” side of the game. Which path you choose determines which faction you’re fighting for, so choosing the other path on a second play-through means you’ll have to fight against characters you’ve come to know and appreciate. But what really sets Front Mission 3 apart is its mech-building mechanic. Every enemy mech you take down goes into your inventory, and you can swap parts around to create the patchwork mech of your dreams.

Did you know?

It may be the third game in the series, but Front Mission 3 was the first to be released in North America.
The game's vastly different branching paths all begins with a simple early game choice: do you help your friend make a delivery, or not?

The Bard's Tale

Developer Interplay Productions

Release 1985

Chris Reed

You’d better have graph paper on hand before you dive into this dungeon crawler, because it offers no map of the intricate mazes you’ll find inside. To begin, you can customize up to six adventurers, with professions like warrior, rogue, hunter, and magician. True to the title, the bard is probably the most useful, because his songs cast spells that help out your entire party. The game lets you explore towns and dungeons one grid square at a time, with turn-based combat that uses a loose version of Dungeon & Dragons’ die rolls. In the mid-‘80s, gamers were hungry for this kind of adventure. That’s probably why The Bard’s Tale showed up on tons of computer platforms, as well as the NES.

Did you know?

The actual title is Tales of the Unknown: Volume I: The Bard’s Tale. Later games in the series dropped everything but the subtitle.
Printed on the front of the PlayStation 2 disc is the line, "For A Really Disturbing Image... Flip Disc Over." On the back? Just the reflective mirror of the disc.

Betrayal at Krondor

Developer Dynamix

Release 1993

Chris Reed

Set in the world of the Riftwar novels by Raymond E. Feist, Betrayal at Krondor is a first-person RPG that’s surprisingly open-world for a game of its vintage. You control three adventurers as you make your way through nine chapters of a fantasy story, fighting enemies, picking locks, maintaining degradable gear, and solving riddles to open Moredhel wordlock chests. Combat plays out like a turn-based strategy game, with combatants moving around on a grid to deliver strategic strikes. Make sure you bring your reading glasses, because Krondor is dense with text, which should come as no surprise considering its literary origins.

Did you know?

The initial release of Betrayal at Krondor came on a stack of seven 3.5-inch floppy discs.
Set in the world of Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar books, the game itself was structured like a novel, complete with chapter breaks.

Freedom Force

Developer Irrational Games

Release 2002

Chris Reed

Most RPGs center around adventurers in a fantasy world. Freedom Force, on the other hand, is about superheroes in a modern setting. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this game is the combat. Each of your four heroes has unique moves, but they can also interact with the urban environment. Parked cars can be hoisted and hurled at enemies. Light posts can be pulled out of the ground and swung like baseball bats. And while the combat takes place in real time by default, you can pause at any time to issue instructions to your party. Freedom Force is a stylish game that oozes charm and originality at every turn.

Did you know?

The superheroes in Freedom Force were created for the game, but they got their own comic book miniseries in 2005.
Freedom Force had a 2005 self-published sequel — Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich.

Divinity: Original Sin

Developer Larian Studios

Release 2014

Chris Reed

At a glance, Divinity: Original Sin looks like an old-fashioned CRPG with a fresh coat of paint. And it is, but Larian Studios has modernized more than just the graphics. For instance, the NPCs often react in realistic ways to your actions, ways other games don’t bother including. Most RPGs let you barge into people’s homes and take their things without a word of complaint. Try that in Divinity: Original Sin, and you’re likely to get yelled at or attacked. Every location is brimming with creative ideas and new things to find, making it a real challenge to stop playing. All of this, and it also manages to be funny throughout. That’s quite an achievement.

Did you know?

Larian Studios pulled in nearly $1 million in a Kickstarter campaign to get Divinity: Original Sin off the ground.
It is Larian's fastest-selling and highest-rated game to date.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Developer BioWare

Release 2014

Chris Reed

Dragon Age: Inquisition contains a fantasy world so rich and well developed, you might want to go there on vacation if it weren’t for all the monsters. Its story, about closing a breach in the fabric of the world, is about as epic as single-player games get. And its character creation options are nearly limitless. But its most impressive achievement, and the reason players keep coming back to it, is the characters. Inquisition is stocked with sharply written, well acted characters that come to feel like good friends by the time the game is over. Any game that can deliver that kind of experience is worth playing at least once.

Did you know?

Instead of importing old saves, BioWare released Dragon Age Keep, an app that let players customize their decisions from previous games.
The first Dragon Age game to feature nudity.

Darkest Dungeon

Developer Red Hook Studios

Release 2016

Chris Reed

Darkest Dungeon wastes no time plunging players into a mood of doom and gloom. But that’s one of the reasons to love it. You control a party of adventurers who trudge into the depths of a dungeon, taking on enemies in turn-based battles as you go. Randomness plays a large role in the game, so you can never settle into a comfortable rhythm. The class system is nicely varied, making it rewarding to try different party combinations. Each character has a unique set of moves, some of which need to be unlocked and all of which can be upgraded. What moves they can use depend on where they’re positioned in the party line. For a game that might look simple on the outside, these overlapping systems add a great deal of complexity. And with the difficulty level so high, winning always feels rewarding.

Did you know?

Darkest Dungeon was originally planned as a top-down tile-based game.
It earned over $313,000 on Kickstarter and sold over one million copies.

Developer Nihon Falcom

Release 1990

Chris Reed

One of the lesser known long-running RPG series is Ys (pronounced “ees”). It’s a shame it’s not more popular, because Ys has been offering up enjoyable action RPGs regularly since the 1980s. What you get in this collection, originally released on TurboGrafx-CD but now available more widely, is enhanced remakes of the franchise’s first two installments. The games center around Adol Christin, a redheaded hero on a quest to collect the books of Ys and takes on the evil forces rampaging through the world. With splashy real-time combat and eye-catching anime cut scenes, this collection helped prove that CD was the gaming medium of the future.

Did you know?

The final boss of the first game in this collection is notorious for being one of the toughest bosses ever created. Have fun.
Critics have praised its soundtrack as some of the best video game music ever composed.

Kingdom Hearts II

Developer Square Enix

Release 2006

Jonathon Dornbush

Kingdom Hearts 2 considerably ups the combat possibilities of its predecessor, introducing new forms — and snazzy new suits — for Sora to wear. The addition of the Reaction Command in combat also spices battles up, making for a combat experience made even more varied by the addition of the new Nobodies enemies. By streamlining some of the first Kingdom Heart's systems, including magic and the awful Gummi Ship levels — not to mention deepening the lore to stranger, more engaging depths — the first numbered sequel in the 15 year old franchise is still one of its strongest and one of the most fun to play.

Did you know?

Stitch (of Lilo & Stitch) was included as a character after a survey revealed Stitch as the second most beloved Disney character in Japan.
The poem read at the end of the game is taken from the original trailer of the first Kingdom Hearts.
Kingdom Hearts II sold over 727,000 copies during its first week in Japan.

Chrono Cross

Developer Square

Release 2000

Chris Reed

Few RPG fans would deny that Chrono Trigger is a certified masterpiece. So what’s a developer to do when creating a sequel to such a beloved game? Create another classic, of course. Rather than rehashing ideas from Chrono Trigger, Square decided to mix things up quite a bit with the sequel. Chrono Cross takes place in an entirely different world and stars a new set of characters. But what really sets it apart is its unique battle system, which cleverly mixes turn-based tropes with real-time elements. Your characters have stamina meters that fill up between attacks. The longer you wait to make a move, the more powerful the move will be. Throw in a magic system that uses an element grid that ties into the stamina meter, and you’re looking at a mighty deep combat system. The callbacks to Chrono Trigger are just icing on an already impressive cake.

Did you know?

In the early 2000s, Square registered a trademark for Chrono Break, getting fans excited for a sequel. So far, nothing has come of it.
Localization director Richard Honeywood created a system to automatically generate characters' unique speech patterns in real time.

Dragon Warrior VII

Developer Heartbeat, ArtePiazza

Release 2001

Chris Reed

Some people like short games: get in, have fun, and move on. Dragon Warrior VII is not for those people. This endlessly charming RPG is so packed with quests and breezy conversations that you can play it for well over 100 hours without ever running out of things to do. You don’t even unlock the class system for your party until around 20 hours in. And while the PlayStation version is a great game worthy of this list, the 3DS remake has some added bonuses, including a new translation, visible enemies instead of random encounters, and even more content — as if 100 hours wasn’t enough.

Did you know?

Such a content-rich game must have been made by a team of thousands, right? Wrong. Only about 35 people worked on Dragon Warrior VII.
It was the best-selling game in Japan in the year 2000, when it first launched.

Final Fantasy

Developer Square

Release 1990

Chris Reed

When it comes to influential JRPG franchises, Final Fantasy sits near the very top of the list. Not only did the first game offer one of the most ambitious adventures available on the NES at the time, but it also spawned a series that now comprises dozens of sequels and spinoffs. With its relatively robust class system, its four-character party, and steady injection of new gameplay ideas throughout the adventure, Final Fantasy helped cement a whole host of RPG tropes that would remain for decades to come. Without this game, many of the RPGs on this list would probably be very different games — if they’d even exist at all.

Did you know?

The development team originally wanted to call the game Fighting Fantasy.
Any word starting with an F would've worked, says designer Hironobu Sakaguchi — they just wanted a title they could abbreviate to "FF."

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Developer Blue Sky Productions

Release 1992

Chris Reed

If you thought Bioshock was the first game set in a failed utopia below water level, you’d be wrong. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss has it beat by over 20 years. In this pioneering first-person RPG, you explore a sprawling dungeon using free movement rather than the grid-based system that was common at the time. You can gather useful items, pick your responses during conversations, and power up your character in a staggering number of ways. As you explore the ruins, the music shifts on the fly to match whatever tone your adventuring takes on. If you’re looking for a game that was way ahead of its time, you’ve found it.

Did you know?

The Stygian Abyss is one of the earliest first-person 3D RPGs.
It was also one of the first games to earn the label "immersive sim."
Later games that were influenced by Ultima Underworld include Deus Ex, System Shock, and The Elder Scrolls.

EVE Online

Developer CCP Games

Release 2003

Chris Reed

Calling EVE Online epic doesn’t really do it justice. This long-running MMO contains thousands of star systems you can explore at your leisure (unless space pirates show up and blast you to oblivion). It presents players with a universe to explore and a basic set of gameplay systems. What you do with that is up to you, thanks to open-ended gameplay that rewards creativity and collaboration. You can join up with other players and take part in multi-day space battles, or you can go off and mine resources to sell for a profit at the next space station. If you want to blow tens of thousands of real-life dollars building a city-sized space ship, you can do that too. The universe is your oyster.

Did you know?

One famous virtual crime to take place in EVE Online saw an in-game corporation steal $16,500 USD worth of assets from another.
The 2016 book Empires of EVE chronicles some of the most interesting stories that have emerged in EVE Online's long history

Developer AlphaDream

Release 2003

Chris Reed

Mario was no stranger to RPGs, but Superstar Saga brought Luigi into the fold and kicked off a now-classic series of handheld RPGs. Superstar Saga finds the plumber brothers teaming up with Bowser to get Princess Peach’s voice back from the villainous Cackletta. To do so, they engage in some of the most enjoyable action RPG-ing you’ll find in any game, handheld or otherwise. The story is shot through with humor that plays out in the script, but also in the many expressive character animations packed into the game. Even many of the attacks are clever, like when Mario uses a fireball to set Luigi’s rear end on fire, sending him charging into enemies.

Did you know?

This Game Boy Advance cartridge also includes a remake of the Mario Bros. arcade game.
Area 64 was meant was both a reference to Area 51 and the Nintendo 64.

Star Ocean: The Second Story

Developer tri-Ace

Release 1999

Chris Reed

Though it doesn’t get talked about as much as other RPGs from the early PlayStation era, Star Ocean: The Second Story isn’t one to miss. It tells the story of Claude and Rena, unlikely companions who come from very different backgrounds. Claude is a spacefaring adventurer who accidentally transports himself to Expel, a faraway planet of magic and fantasy, where he meets Rena, who thinks he must be a legendary Hero of Light. On top of that promising setup, the game is rife with intricate systems, all of which offer unique charms. An item creation mode lets you break down collectibles into food and gear. During real-time battles, you can control whichever party member you want, hopping between them to take advantage of their unique abilities. The graphics hold up well, with a dynamic battle camera, pre-rendered backgrounds, and expressive sprite-based characters. Oh, and the soundtrack isn’t too shabby either.

Did you know?

The animation company Links created the CG cutscenes for this game as well as Final Fantasy VII.
A seven-volume manga series based on the game ended without concluding its story.

Illusion of Gaia

Developer Quintet

Release 1994

Chris Reed

When the spirit of the earth asks you to do something, you do it. That’s what kicks off this action RPG about a boy on a quest to collect Mystic Statues and bring them to the Tower of Babel to save the world from ultimate destruction. But it’s not just the story that makes Illusion of Gaia one of the best in its genre. It’s the Earth-like setting that features locations both real and mythical. It’s the combat, which starts out simple and becomes much more complex as you learn surprising new abilities. And then there’s the soundtrack, which sticks in your head long after you’ve reached the tower, saved the world, and tried to figure out the ambiguous ending.

Did you know?

The NA version had potentially controversial aspects changed or removed, including religious references and a whole thing about cannibalism.
Influential Japanese artist Moto Hagio, the "mother of shojo manga," designed Illusion of Gaia's characters.

Valkyria Chronicles

Developer Sega

Release 2008

Chris Reed

On paper, Valkyria Chronicles doesn’t seem like it should work. For one thing, it shoehorns shooter mechanics into a turn-based strategy game. For another, it uses anime art to depict a setting very much like Europe during World War II. But somehow Sega took these seemingly incongruous ingredients and cooked up a truly impressive game. The battles are tactical but intense, thanks to a perspective that lets you plot your moves from an overhead view of the battlefield before swooping down and giving you direct control of your troops as you put your plan into action. The characters are well written, and the game actually seems to have something to say about war. It’s rare for a game to try to blend this many ideas into a single package. It’s far more rare for the result to be this brilliant.

Did you know?

As part of their research leading up to the game, the developers reportedly binge-watched Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan.
Three characters from Skies of Arcadia make an appearance.

Icewind Dale II

Developer Black Isle Studios

Release 2002

Chris Reed

Compared to other games in its genealogy — like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment — Icewind Dale II is much more focused on action. So while it mostly ditches side quests and puzzles that were common in its predecessors, it zeroes in on deep character creation tools and tons of combat variety. You start out by creating a party of up to six adventurers, selecting their class, gender, and race. Once that’s done, you begin your adventure, customizing your team with an array of weapons, abilities, and spells along the way. Combat mechanics are only useful when you have something to fight, so it’s good Icewind Dale II doesn’t skimp in the enemy department. It presents you with mummies, skeletons, bugbears, orcs, goblins, giants, and a whole mess of other fantasy beasts to slay. In 2002, Icewind Dale II was the perfect chaser to its sprawling, meditative predecessors. It even holds up today.

Did you know?

The last game created on the Infinity Engine.
Based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition ruleset.

The Legend of Dragoon

Developer SCE Japan Studio

Release 2000

Mike Rougeau

The Legend of Dragoon follows Dart, a traditional RPG protagonist who just really can’t catch a break. His parents are killed, his hometown is destroyed — twice — and on his way home from a journey to avenge them he’s attacked by a really cool dragon. The graphics at the time were exceptional, and although Dragoon wasn’t the first RPG with turn-based combat to use an action cue system to make battles more engaging, that is one aspect that made the game memorable.

Did you know?

The Legend of Dragoon was spread across four discs on the original PlayStation.
Its difficulty was toned down for US release.
When the Legend of Dragoon debuted in the US PlayStation Network store in 2012, it was the top-selling PSOne classic for three months.

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Developer Nippon Ichi Software

Release 2003

Mike Rougeau

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness kicked off the popular strategy game series, setting up the franchise’s signature humor and systems with the arrogant Laharl’s quest to reclaim the demon throne and become Overlord of the Netherworld. Hour of Darkness featured several unique systems, like the ability to capture enemies and turn them into allies, though at the risk of killing some of your own units, and a complex “geo panel” system that let skilled players set up gratifying chain reactions during battle. Most of all, it's the game’s irreverant humor that gives it staying power and has earned it a cult following.

Did you know?

Its Japanese title translates to “Netherworld Battle Chronicle: Disgaea.”
The song “The Invasion From Within” by the band Tsunami Bomb will only play in the US version if English is selected as the language.
A Sony PSP port released in 2007 had a slightly different title — Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Developer CD Projekt RED

Release 2011

Mike Rougeau

The first Witcher game, based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, was great in its own right, but the sequel, Assassins of Kings, exploded the series out of its niche and into the mainstream. The game was bigger and better in every way, with improved combat, celebrated graphics, and much more player freedom (though the series hadn’t gone full open world yet, like it would with The Witcher 3). Like the series’ other games, The Witcher 2 is renowned for its fantastic writing and characters, including a narrative fork that can set players on two very different paths, making Geralt one of gaming’s most iconic heroes.

Did you know?

CD Projekt developed their own engine for The Witcher 2. (The first game ran on BioWare’s Aurora engine.)
In Australia, a quest in which Geralt is offered sex as a reward was altered so that he declines automatically.
In the lead-up to The Witcher 2's release, the May 2011 issue of the Polish edition of Playboy featured the character Triss on its cover.

Neverwinter Nights 2

Developer Obsidian Entertainment

Release 2006

Mike Rougeau

Development on the Neverwinter Nights series passed from BioWare to Obsidian for the full-fledged sequel in 2006, but the game didn’t exactly suffer for it. Following an orphaned adventurer investigating relics called Silver Shards, NW2 improved on the first game in marked ways, especially in its narrative. More importantly, it featured online co-op and a development toolset with which players could create their own scenarios for the game, both of which helped ensure Neverwinter Nights 2 would have an avid following to this day.

Did you know?

Neverwinter Nights 2's multiplayer servers were shut down in 2012, but fans have kept it alive in various ways.
Its existence was revealed months before its official announcement by an Atari employee replying to an inflammatory post on a company forum.

Jade Empire

Developer BioWare

Release 2005

Mike Rougeau

Before Mass Effect and Dragon Age (although after Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Knights of the Old Republic, to be fair), there was BioWare’s Jade Empire, an original Xbox game that proved console RPGs could be great. With the traditional story of a martial arts student thrust on a quest to save their master, Jade Empire wowed players with its engrossing world and its surprisingly nuanced dual philosophies, the Way of the Open Palm and the Way of the Closed Fist (mirroring BioWare’s success developing “light” and “dark” paths for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic).

Did you know?

Jade Empire’s made-up language, Tho Fan, was created by Wolf Wikeley, a Ph.D candidate in linguistics at the University of Alberta.
Its limited edition came with three additional Xbox game demos: Forza Motorsport, Conker Live & Reloaded, and MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf.

Fire Emblem Awakening

Developer Intelligent Systems, Nintendo SPD

Release 2013

Mike Rougeau

Gamers in the Western world had no idea what we were missing out on all the years Nintendo hadn’t started releasing Fire Emblem games here yet. The 3DS’s Fire Emblem Awakening is a great example. It built on everything fans love about the series, from its strategic turn-based battles to its focus on story and characters. It also included the ability to disable the series’ signature “permadeath” mechanic, providing more options for a wider variety of players to appreciate Fire Emblem’s genius.

Did you know?

Fire Emblem sales flagged prior to Awakening’s release, and the developers knew it might be the last FE game if it wasn’t successful.
Its characters were co-designed by Yusuke Kozaki, who also designed the characters in Grasshopper Manufacture’s Wii game No More Heroes.
Prior to release, its internal name was “Fire Emblem Fin: The Children from the Brink.”

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

Developer Vanillaware

Release 2016

Mike Rougeau

Sometimes all a game needs is a second chance, and Odin Sphere got one with Odin Sphere Leifthrasir in 2016. A remake of the 2007 PlayStation 2 original, Leifthrasir improved on it in every way, with better combat and AI, more environments, and many redesigned systems that ironed out the game’s kinks and let its strengths shine through. Those strengths include a dramatic, twist-filled story, a plethora of playable characters, and, perhaps most of all, Vanillaware’s signature hand-drawn art style.

Did you know?

“Leifthrasir” comes from Norse mythology’s Lif and Lífþrasir, the two humans who survive the apocalypse and repopulate the world.
Creator George Kamitani wanted to remove several features in Leifthrasir from the original, like alchemy, but the team convinced him not to.

Undertale

Developer Toby Fox

Release 2016

Mike Rougeau

It’s amazing what one person can accomplish, and Undertale is proof. Toby Fox wrote and designed, developed, composed the music for, and released Undertale solo, his only help from additional artists. And it took the gaming world by storm, largely thanks to its deceptively simple story and combat systems, which worked together to conceal great narrative depth. Undertale turns nearly every RPG trope in existence on its head, while simultaneously feeling good as an RPG — a truly incredible feat.

Did you know?

Creator Toby Fox planned to release Undertale in 2014, but experienced years of delays.
Its Kickstarter funding campaign, which took place in 2013, raised over ten times its goal of $5,000 — earning over $51,000.
Fox, who composed and created all of Undertale's music, is a self-taught musician with no formal training.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Developer Level-5

Release 2013

Mike Rougeau

Ni no Kuni: Wratch of the White Witch follows the adventures of Oliver and his companions, who include an oddball fairy named Drippy, as Oliver tries to save his mother. Its unique combat system paired well with a Pokemon-like creature collection element, while its world brimmed with fantastic sights and sounds. Most notably, Ni no Kuni’s visuals were heavily inspired by famed Japanese animators Studio Ghibli — makers of films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away — and Ghibli provided the game’s gorgeous animated cutscenes.

Did you know?

Ni no Kuni was originally in development for Nintendo DS with the title “Ni no Kuni: The Another World.”
That version became Ni no Kuni: Dominon of the Dark Djinn, launching a year before White Witch.
Motorville represents an American town in the peak of the automotive industry — called “Hotroit,” like Detroit, in the Japanese version.

Pool of Radiance

Developer Strategic Simulations, Inc.

Release 1988

Mike Rougeau

An “official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons computer product,” Pool of Radiance cast you as a band of heroes battling monsters and other enemies in and around the town of Phlan. It was the first adaptation of Advanced D&D, helping set the precedent for western RPGs for the last three decades, from Baldur’s Gate to The Witcher 3. It even let players export their characters into later games in the series, another precursor of things to come.

Did you know?

An NES version called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance launched in 1992.
Copy protection features required players to use a decoder wheel to translate a word to get past the title screen.
The Macintosh version lacked music because of hardware limitations.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Developer Level-5

Release 2005

Mike Rougeau

Dragon Quest VIII is considered by many fans to be among the best entries in the series, which is saying something for a franchise this popular. This was back in the height of cartoonish, cel-shaded graphics, but even then this game stood out for its gorgeously rendered world. It also managed to be less complex than some of its predecessors, eschewing a complicated job system, which many players — weary of convoluted systems in contemporary RPGs — found refreshing.

Did you know?

Dragon Quest VIII was the first fully 3D Dragon Quest game.
It’s the top-selling PS2 game of all time in Japan.
The Japanese release day party took place at a Starbucks in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Lunar: Eternal Blue

Developer Game Arts, Studio Alex

Release 1995

Mike Rougeau

As the sequel to Lunar: The Silver Star, Lunar: Eternal Blue improved on its predecessor in almost every way, with better graphics and more of the series’ signature animated custscenes. In an era when many of the most popular games, including all the best Super Nintendo games, were still telling their entire stories through text boxes, Lunar: Eternal Blue was ahead of its time with not just all those cutscenes but over an hour of voiced dialogue, all thanks to the Sega CD format.

Did you know?

Lunar: Eternal Blue is the sequel to 1992’s Lunar: The Silver Star, which was later remade later as Lunar: Silver Star Story.
Eternal Blue takes place 1,000 years after the original.
Like the original, the sequel was written by novelist Kei Shigema.

Phantasy Star Online

Developer Sonic Team

Release 2001

Mike Rougeau

Phantasy Star Online involved a lot of firsts, not just for the series but for RPGs in general. It eschewed the turn-based combat of the previous games in favor of more action-oriented gameplay, and more importantly its impressive network features let players from all over the world connect and play with each other, with innovative communication options including unique emoji and other symbols. The sci-fi adventure singlehandedly provided a good reason to own a Dreamcast, not to mention many players’ first experience with an online RPG.

Did you know?

Phantasy Star Online was born because then-Sega chairman Isao Okawa predicted the importance of online console gaming.
At the time, dial-up internet in Japan charged by the minute, so PSO came with a year of free service, reportedly out of Okawa’s own pocket.

Breath of Fire III

Developer Capcom

Release 1998

Mike Rougeau

Breath of Fire and Breath of Fire II were classics in their own right, but Breath of Fire III goes down in history as the one that brought the series into 3D. It also featured voice acting for the first time in the series, not to mention being remembered for its jazzy soundtrack by composers Yoshino Aoki and Akari Kaida. A memorable story involving Ryu, the last survivor of a race of people who can transform into dragons, didn’t hurt, and combined all these elements ensured Breath of Fire III’s place in history.

Did you know?

A trailer for Breath of Fire III appeared on a Resident Evil 2 demo disc that came with Resident Evil: Director’s Cut in Japan.
Capcom produced a radio dramatization of scenes from the game in 1997.
The game’s composers also provided vocals on the credits song, “Pure Again.”

Lunar: Silver Star Story

Developer Game Arts, Japan Art Media

Release 1999

Mike Rougeau

First released in Japan in 1996, Lunar: Silver Star Story was actually a remake of the 1992 game Lunar: The Silver Star. This was before remakes were really a “thing,” making Silver Star Story unique for its time. It was also renowned for its animated scenes and stellar localization, and launched a sequel and multiple additional remakes.

Did you know?

Lunar: Silver Star Story was first released on Sega Genesis in 1996 before hitting PlayStation two years later.
It features almost an hour of fully animated cutscenes
The localization studio, Working Designs, added several features, including expanding the number of available save slots.

Shining Force II

Developer Camelot Software Planning

Release 1994

Mike Rougeau

Shining Force II wasn’t directly connected to its predecessor, but it was praised at the time for its considerable length and the freedom it afforded players. A relatively complex class system and extensive backgrounds for each character helped make the game distinct, while its grid-based combat system made Shining Force II ahead of its time.

Did you know?

Shining Force II’s developer, Camelot Software Planning, would go on to create Golden Sun for Game Boy Advance.
It was subtitled “The Ancient Seal” in Japan.
A Sega Game Gear game, Shining Force: Final Conflict, linked the plots of Shining Force and Shining Force II.

Golden Sun

Developer Camelot Software Planning

Release 2001

Mike Rougeau

There was a Pokemon-like creature collection element to Golden Sun’s Djinn system, but this Game Boy Advance RPG wasn’t riding any coattails. With fantastic graphics, a deep turn-based combat system, and puzzle-based gameplay that pushed the boundaries of what RPGs could do outside of combat, Golden Sun was a landmark. And the fact that it was all on the tiny Game Boy Advance was even more to its credit.

Did you know?

Golden Sun was developed in between 12 and 18 months, which was considered long for a handheld game at the time.
It was originally planned for Nintendo 64.
Originally planned as a single game, not a trilogy, which explains why the original’s story is cut off so abruptly.

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

Developer Neverland

Release 1996

Mike Rougeau

In an era of Super Nintendo games replete with some of the most celebrated RPGs of all time, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals managed to stand tall. A large part of that was its lack of random battles in dungeons, a huge advancement that made Lufia II way ahead of its time. It even had a randomly generated dungeon, the 99-floor Ancient Cave, another feature of modern games that had yet to reach prominence at that time. Those elements combined with devious puzzles and an engrossing plot, earn Lufia II a spot on the list.

Did you know?

Lufia II is a prequel to the first game, Lufia & the Fortress of Doom.
The 2010 Nintendo DS port was also developed by Neverland — the team featured many people who worked on the original over 14 years earlier.

Tales of Vesperia

Developer Namco Tales Studio

Release 2008

Mike Rougeau

Namco’s expansive Tales series continues to this day, but Tales of Vesperia will always stand out from the rest thanks to its improvements to the series’ signature Linear Motion Battle System and its detailed, attractive anime-style graphics. Following Yuri Lowell and his guild Brave Vesperia, Tales of Vesperia also featured an engrossing story involving abuse of Blastia energy that threatens the very planet. Nobody even cared that this was the basic plot of Final Fantasy VII (and many other RPGs) as well.

Did you know?

Tales of Vesperia was the tenth entry in the main Tales series.
It was initially planned as a PS3 game, but ultimately was developed for Xbox 360 and, later, PlayStation 3.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Developer Square

Release 1996

Mike Rougeau

Super Mario RPG launched multiple future spin-off series for the famous plumber, including the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario games. But the original will always be remembered for its impressive (at the time!) graphics, unique cast (Bowser joining Mario’s side was novel at the time), and surprisingly engrossing story. Fan petitions to include Geno, one of the game’s many original characters, in Super Smash Bros. persist to this day.

Did you know?

There’s a secret optional boss named Culex whose fight features music from Final Fantasy games.
A secret in Booster Tower can temporarily turn Mario into an 8-bit NES-style sprite.
Developers at Nintendo and Square, including Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, reportedly spent over a year on the 3D-style graphics alone.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Developer Nautilus

Release 2004

Mike Rougeau

As a sequel to the original Shadow Hearts set in the chaos of the first world war, Shadow Hearts: Covenant is one of the best alternate-history RPGs out there. The unique Judgment Ring made combat exciting, while new additions to the series like the Crest Magic system provided significant advancements over the original. Some wonky localization and dialogue issues only added to its charm. Who doesn’t love demons and sorcerers mixed in with actual historical events?

Did you know?

Shadow Hearts: Covenant is one of the few PlayStation 2 games that came on two discs.
The sequel’s existence was leaked the week before its official release by a Japanese gaming site called Quiter.

The World Ends With You

Developer Jupiter, Square Enix

Release 2007

Mike Rougeau

The World Ends With You featured a really cool story about combatants thrust into a mysterious Hunger Games-like competition in an alternate dimension of Tokyo’s famous Shibuya district, requiring multiple playthroughs to unlock all its secret narrative twists. But if you remember the original Nintendo DS version for one thing, it’s probably the game’s insane battle system, which required controlling two characters simultaneously on the system’s top and bottom screens. It’s a demanding but totally unique system that, combined with an inimitable style, made The World Ends With You a classic.

Did you know?

The iOS/Android port simplified the controversial dual-screen battle system.
Co-developer Jupiter previously worked on the Game Boy Advance card battler Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.
Its developers originally planned to set the game in various locations around the world before narrowing it to only Shibuya.

Phantasy Star IV

Developer Sega

Release 1995

Mike Rougeau

Phantasy Star IV is as classic as classic gets when it comes to JRPGs, with the turn-based battles and top-down exploration that epitomizes traditional JRPG tropes. It was even criticized on its original release for its outdated graphics. But there’s nothing wrong with that retro look. Thanks to an involved combat and magic system, a solid story set 1,000 years after Phantasy Star II, and themes dealing with global climate catastrophe, it remains more than relevant today.

Did you know?

In Japan, Phantasy Star IV was subtitled “The End of the Millennium,” which appears on the title screen for all versions.
The American instruction manual references more combo attacks than have been discovered, sparking a decades-long hunt for the 15th combo.
On its North American release in 1995, Phantasy Star IV cost almost $100 in the US.

Final Fantasy VII

Developer Square

Release 1997

Mike Rougeau

What needs to be said about Final Fantasy VII? The game singlehandedly pushed RPGs to greater popularity in the western world than they’d ever experienced, thanks to its gritty tone, incredible graphics, revolutionary CG cutscenes, unimaginably huge world, and insane story. Practically every one of its characters has become an iconic hero or villain, and its legacy is immeasurable. Whether you think it’s the greatest game of all time or the most overrated, its influence and its innovations simply can’t be denied.

Did you know?

Final Fantasy VII, like its predecessor in the series, was originally going to be on Super Nintendo.
FFVII’s development budget of over $80 million and team of over 100 people was unprecedented at the time.
A high-definition remake is in development for PlayStation 4.

Stardew Valley

Developer Eric Barone

Release 2016

Mike Rougeau

Stardew Valley captured hearts by feeling like a throwback to a simpler time in gaming, combining all the best bits of classic home-and-hearth games like Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. It singlehandedly breathed new life into the genre with its polished presentation, deep farming systems, and remarkable freedom. Stardew Valley set its roots deep in the gaming consciousness, and with a Nintendo Switch release coming in 2017, it’s surely here to stay.

Did you know?

Stardew Valley was created entirely by one person, Eric Barone.
The original plan was to publish on XBLIG, but the game’s scope widened during development and was picked up by publisher Chucklefish Games.
Animals in Stardew Valley can’t be slaughtered for their meat — Barone is a vegetarian.

Persona 5

Developer Atlus

Release 2017

Leif Johnson

At heart, Persona 5 is a game about shaking off the chains of contemporary society. Oh, sure, it's got some exciting turn-based combat, too, but nothing else about it leaves a mark on your soul quite like its leaps from hobnobbing around a Tokyo high school to venturing inside the dungeons of wayward adults and physically battling their personal demons. There's so much here, whether it's dungeons with hidden rooms or branching paths, or weighty modern themes centering on suicide and drug use. Its intimate explorations of multiple characters also make it an intensely personal story, and one that shouldn't be missed.

Did you know?

Persona 5's themes were inspired by the bonding director Katsura Hashino saw following the 2011 Japanese earthquake.
The original designs called for action-based combat.
Around 1,160 event scenes made it into the final game.

Xenoblade Chronicles

Developer Monolith Soft

Release 2012

Leif Johnson

JRPGs were in a bit of a funk at the beginning of this decade, but few games sent them surging back to relevance quite like Xenoblade Chronicles. There's just so much to love about it, whether it's the sprawling open world with its many surprises to discover, the likeable cast of characters, the thrilling action combat, or a day and night cycle that caused enemies to grow stronger after the sun went down. Toss in the stellar soundtrack, and that's a recipe for a game that should be popular for years to come.

Did you know?

The inhabitants of the world of Xenoblade Chronicles live their lives on the bodies of two dead gods.
A turn-based design that let players see into the future was planned but later scrapped.
Six different composers worked on the soundtrack.

Dragon Age: Origins

Developer BioWare

Release 2009

Leif Johnson

BioWare first made its name with fantasy RPGs, and Dragon Age: Origins marked a generally triumphant update to its tradition of pause-based combat mechanics and party micromanagement. But its chief strength was its grim setting in a dark fantasy world that married the high fantasy of The Lord of the Rings with the low fantasy of A Song of Ice and Fire, where elves are treated like trash and magic brought with it terrible prices. It's also a character-driven game in true BioWare fashion, with the standout performance coming from Claudia Black as the role of the witch Morrigan.

Did you know?

Enter the Denerim Market District enough times, and nine stationary cats will appear on the ground in neat rows.
Dragon Age: Origins was meant as a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, but with no licensing issues.
The team spent far more time on the creation of Alistair and Morrigan than any other character.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

Developer Atlus

Release 2006

Leif Johnson

One of the most appealing aspects of Persona 3 is the way it jumps between what passes through the real world and fantasy, and it pulls it off while being effortlessly cool. The narrative follows a high school student whose extracurricular activities partly involve fighting creatures that gnaw on human minds during the "Dark Hour," and he's surrounding by memorable characters who aid him in this task. Its greatest legacy, though, is the first appearance of the Social Links system, which lets the player level personas (the manifestation of one's inner self) while doing normal-world activities as well as by fighting monsters.

Did you know?

Aigis' headphones greatly resemble the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient Greek artifact for predicting eclipses.
As seen in concept art, Ken was initially imagined to use darts instead of spears.
The 2010 PSP remake allowed players to play as a woman.

Grandia II

Developer Game Arts

Release 2000

Leif Johnson

Grandia II was one of the Sega Dreamcast's standout RPGs, delivering fantastic graphics for the system and the time and a good, twisty tale about a world still suffering from the effects of a battle between two gods from thousands of years ago. The battle system was the chief standout, though, as it took the familiar JRPG turn-based formula and rejuvenated it by allowing characters to run behind their opponents or fall back after attacking them. And the rockin' battle anthem with its screaming electric guitars playing over this? That was the grandest part.

Did you know?

Grandia II features Jennifer Hale in a relatively "shy" voice role in the character of Elena.
The PC and PlayStation ports had more technical problems than the original Dreamcast version.
Grandia II was intentionally meant to be more "mature" than its predecessor.

Demon's Souls

Developer FromSoftware

Release 2009

Leif Johnson

As big as the Dark Souls games are today, it's still pretty easy to find players who've never even heard of their PS3-exclusive predecessor Demon's Souls. But the skeleton of what would come to define Hidetaka Miyazaki's later creations were already in place there, whether it's the minimal story, the high likelihood of death at every turn, or the ability to see how other players died from their blood pools.

Did you know?

Demon's Souls had almost no mass marketing at launch.
Originally intended as a spiritual successor to King's Field.
Only 20,000 copies were sold in the first week.

Xenogears

Developer Square

Release 1998

Leif Johnson

You'll have to read a lot in Xenogears, but it's worth it. Throughout its many hours, the plot weaves through religious references and philosophical ideas by the likes of Friedrich Nietzsche, all while also prompting deep thoughts about the relationship between humankind and machines. Naturally, it also lets you stomp around in a giant, spiky mech. It's an ambitious package of near constant wonder, crafted with stellar graphics for the period and complemented with a memorable soundtrack.

Did you know?

Xenogears started life as a concept for the then-unmade Final Fantasy VII.
"Severe religious issues" almost stopped Square Enix from releasing Xenogears in the U.S.
Translating the high volume of scientific and philosophical text was so taxing that several translators quit.

Tales of Symphonia

Developer Namco Tales Studio

Release 2003

Leif Johnson

The basic thrust of Tales of Symphonia's plot sometimes veered toward cliche, but the little chats between the colorful characters did much to make up for that. Often they had little to do with the plot at hand, and that detachment made them feel more human. Its real-time combat delivers a similar sense of satisfaction, as it's based on a uncommon system that's both 2D and 3D at once. Success demands an entertaining juggle of blocking and dishing out special abilities and normal attacks. Even so, Tales of Symphonia never loses sight of the fact that characterization should always come first, and the two elements together make for a rewarding package.

Did you know?

Seven manga adaptations of Tales of Symphonia were made.
The unused model for Rutee Katrea from Tales of Destiny can be found in Tales' files.
The PlayStation 3 version included new costumes for all characters.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

Developer Troika Games

Release 2004

Leif Johnson

You have to dig under a pile of glitches and bugs in an unpatched version of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, but if you persist, you'd quickly find one of the most rewarding RPGs ever made. Set in White Wolf's vampire universe and more specifically in Los Angeles, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines isn't only about sucking blood wherever you can safely find it, but also about shaping your tale according to your actions, beliefs, and your choices. Few RPGs do this better. It's especially successful because few works in any media have ever captured a vampiric setting so well, and Bloodlines uses every drop of this atmosphere to add meaning to everything from fascinating rivalries between vampire clans to hungry hunts for rats in dirty alleys.

Did you know?

Troika Games went out of business only a couple of months after Bloodlines' release.
Modders managed to activate the code for the multiplayer mode Troika abandoned.
Bloodlines was the first game made outside of Valve to use the Source engine.

Skies of Arcadia

Developer Overworks

Release 2000

Leif Johnson

Skies of Arcadia was one of the bright points in the tragic history of the SEGA Dreamcast, and at release it easily turned heads with its colorful art style and rewarding turn-based gameplay. But it's the airships everyone rightly remembers — beautiful, billowing things that engaged in battles with other ships thousands of feet up in a 3D world with floating islands. Docking the ships allowed you to strut about towns or venture deep into menacing dungeons, where you'd partake in a unique combat system that made your party share one pool of spirit points for spells and thus added a fun dose of risk to each action. Watch out for those pesky random encounters, though — they tend to get out of hand.

Did you know?

A PlayStation 2 port was planned but never finished.
The GameCube version placed less emphasis on random encounters.
Gilder smokes a cigar for his victory pose in the Japanese Dreamcast version, which was removed for Western release.

Final Fantasy IX

Developer Square

Release 2000

Leif Johnson

The Final Fantasy series had gradually started to look less and less like actual knights-and-dragons fantasy in the years leading up to the turn of the century, but Final Fantasy IX returned the series to its roots. The world — at least in spirit if not in pixels — unfolded with much the same art style that had graced the NES in 1997 while still managing to feel fresh. Intentionally more cartoony than predecessors, it's an endearingly optimistic game that nevertheless handles weighty themes such as guilt and identity with surprising dexterity.

Did you know?

In a sword shop in Lindblum, characters obliquely reference Cloud Strife's sword from Final Fantasy VII.
Square developed FFIX in Hawaii as a midway point for Japanese and American developers.
Composer Nobuo Uematsu claims FFIX represents his best work.

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

Developer Quest Corporation

Release 1993

Leif Johnson

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen is the tale of the Knights of Zenobia, who are locked in war with the dastardly Holy Zeteginean Empire. But that never really matters so much as the gameplay, which featured the then-unique approach of using tarot cards to influence troops in its automatic battles and taking advantage of the resulting victories to gobble up more territory on a strategic map. Reputation points gained from interactions with NPC factions are important as well, to the point that your choices could lead you to one of 13 different endings.

Did you know?

Only 25,000 copies were shipped by Enix of America in 1995
The setting was inspired by the civil war in Yugoslavia during the 1990s.
The subtitle comes from the name of a song on Queen's second album.

Fallout

Developer Interplay Entertainment

Release 1997

Leif Johnson

Post-apocalyptic imagery is somewhat in vogue these days, and thus it's hard to imagine how startlingly original Fallout seemed back during its initial release. This was the age of high-fantasy RPGs that stayed close to Dungeons & Dragons rulesets, but drawing from the earlier RPG Wasteland, Fallout shook up that tendency with fears about radiation, ghoulish societies, and a landscape dotted with the rusty husks of 1950s-style cars and structures. It's serious stuff, in a way, but the whole adventure thrives on a sense of humor and pop-culture references that grant it an uncommon vitality even today.

Did you know?

The makers of the GURPS roleplaying game system objected to Fallout's violence, and Interplay had to make its own engine.
The gameplay has strong similarities to that of X-COM.
Interplay chief Brian Fargo recommended the name change from "Vault 13" to Fallout.

Fire Emblem

Developer Intelligent Systems

Release 2003

Leif Johnson

When Fire Emblem first appeared on the Game Boy Advance in the United States, the series had already enjoyed more than a decade of success in its native Japan. Even so, players in the west took to it immediately. It was hard to mistake the similarities with Advance Wars, one of developer Intelligence System's other games, but Fire Emblem forged a superior personality of its own with the rich interactions between its lively characters. Nor were its strengths limited to characterization — with dozens of classes to choose from, a rich leveling system, and permanent death for characters, it was just as fantastic in action.

Did you know?

The popularity of Fire Emblem characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee helped spur Western localization.
Nintendo planned to end the Fire Emblem series if this release failed to sell more than 250,000 copies.
Mars was briefly considered for a setting.

Neverwinter Nights

Developer BioWare

Release 2002

Leif Johnson

Neverwinter Nights spins a good Dungeons & Dragons yarn about a deadly plague and a nefarious cult, and it features one of composer Jeremy Soule's most memorable soundtracks prior to his famed work with Morrowind and Skyrim. But it's the dungeon tools for level creation that make Neverwinter Nights so influential and memorable, as they almost flawlessly allowed players to create their own dungeons and campaigns according to the pen-and-paper rules of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. That was impressive in itself, but the inclusion of an excellent multiplayer system helped make Neverwinter Nights a smash hit.

Did you know?

Interplay was originally meant to publish Neverwinter Nights, but Atari took it over.
The name is drawn from 1991's Neverwinter Nights, the first graphical MMORPG.
The engine was originally meant to support an MMORPG.

Baldur's Gate

Developer BioWare

Release 1998

Leif Johnson

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons laid the framework for many early digital RPGs, but by the time the '90s drew to a close, sticking faithfully to the conventions of the pen-and-paper version was starting to prove disastrous. But then a fledgling studio named BioWare shook the hallowed RPG property out of its slump. Baldur's Gate stunned players with an isometric version of the Forgotten Realms universe awash in vibrant colors and a landscape populated with memorable characters like hamster-loving Minsc, who'd beat you up if you put off helping him track down his partner for too long. A triumph of storytelling that presaged its superior successor, Baldur's Gate kicked off a renaissance of story-rich RPGs that we're arguably still living today.

Did you know?

No one on the 60-person dev team had released a video game before.
Baldur's Gate is the origin of the phrase, "Go for the eyes, Boo!"
It was the first game to use the Infinity Engine.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Developer Intelligent Systems

Release 2004

Leif Johnson

Mario might not sound so tough in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door when you consider that he's literally a piece of paper jaunting around the screen, but that turns out to have some advantages. He can slip in through cracks by slipping through them sideways, roll himself up, or should the need arise, fly off into the blue yonder as a paper airline. It's the kind of design that complements the whimsical and novel-like plot, which still features poor Princess Peach getting kidnapped, but also a few fun rarities, like a scholarly goomba companion. It's also fun in action, particularly in the twitchy battle system that requires good timing or by hearing cheers or jeers from the audiences that watch Mario in battle.

Did you know?

Peach's ringtone on the title screen is the theme from Super Mario World.
The game has safeguards in place to prevent you from "fixing" the Happy Lucky Lottery.
You can find a chalk outline of a murdered Toad in one room in the Japanese version.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

Developer Square Enix

Release 1992

Leif Johnson

Other games emphasize choice, but few showed the effects of those choices over the long game quite like Dragon Quest V did when it launched for the Super Famiconm. The tale here spans an entire three decades, with the hero changing in alignment with the paths taken. It also marks the introduction of the Dragon Quest series' now-familiar ability to let monsters you fight join your party much in the style of the later Pokémon series. It's also remarkable for having a playable pregnancy, a concept that would later influence games like Fable II and The Sims.

Did you know?

Dragon Quest V was initially the first Dragon Quest game not sold outside of Japan.
A PlayStation 2 update allowed you to have four characters in your party instead of three.
It was the first Dragon Quest game to launch with a bonus dungeon.

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

Developer Origin Systems

Release 1985

Leif Johnson

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar is the video game as morality play. For perhaps the first time in computer RPG history, here was a game that wasn't about defeating a bad guy or unshackling the world from the yoke of evil, but rather about learning to embody eight virtues that made you a better person and thus an inspiration to the surrounding world. Kindheartedness, not battle prowess, is the true star here. This was revolutionary stuff at the time, and over three decades later, it remains so. Alas, it's a little rough to get into these days owing to its complexity and sluggish gameplay, but it remains a profound counterpoint to arguments that RPGs corrupt rather than correct.

Did you know?

Developer Richard Garriott designed Ultima IV in response to parents who were angry about the previous Ultima games.
The avatar's quest to attain the eight virtues partly draws from Hindu beliefs.
The virtue system inspired later influence-based RPGs such as Knights of the Old Republic.

Final Fantasy XII

Developer Square Enix

Release 2006

Zachary Ryan

Despite its troubled development, Final Fantasy XII redefined what it meant to be a JRPG. Its mature story was told through the eyes of a bystander sent on a journey that’s rife with political intrigue, danger, and one of the best supporting casts in the series’ history. The Active Dimension Battle system ditched random battles and replaced them with an unprecedented level of strategy and tactical planning. The License Board allowed players to master any skill set with whichever character they desired. Most importantly, Final Fantasy XII gave us an even better understanding of Matsuno's Ivalice, a world with a rich and believable history, and one that's beloved by RPG fans to this day.

Did you know?

The inspiration for Final Fantasy XII's Gambit System came from the dev team's interest in American Football.
Japanese beverage group Suntory introduced a drink called "Final Fantasy XII Potion" to celebrate the game's launch.
Final Fantasy XII is the first main series, non-MMO Final Fantasy to get rid of random encounters.

Pokémon Sun and Moon

Developer Game Freak

Release 2016

Leif Johnson

Pokémon has always been fun, but it's also clung tenaciously to the over-familiar pattern of venturing into gyms for your battles. That all changed in Pokemon Sun and Moon, and for the better. It's a game that's focused on the outdoors, specifically a lovely region named "Alola" modeled on Hawaii, and the hours that follow deliver a satisfying balance of roleplaying and Pokemon battles. It's not just about fighting, though — you'll also find quizzes, scavenger hunts, and a heavy dose of local lore that makes Alola feel real in a way no other Pokémon setting has before. And as a treat, Pokémon Sun and Moon also cleans up the clutter the user interface had built up from previous games without sacrificing depth.

Did you know?

Pokémon Sun and Moon are compatible with Pokémon Bank, the online storage system for Pokémon.
The two games' existence was revealed through listings in the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
Together, both games are the fastest-selling games in Nintendo history.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Developer Capcom

Release 2013

Leif Johnson

There's little subtlety in the Monster Hunter universe — you largely end up doing exactly what the title says. But Monster Hunter 4 ensured all that monster hunting was monstrously fun. Verticality stole the show here, with players being able to scramble up walls or vault up surfaces and then leap down to briefly ride the monsters themselves. More impressively, it managed to accomplish these advanced feats while emerging as the most approachable game in the series. These elements alone were enough to make it good, but an extended variety of weapon and a satisfying local and online multiplayer mode push it to greatness.

Did you know?

Capcom's localization director started collaboration early in development to ensure success in multiple markets.
The first Monster Hunter game to top one million sales in the Americas and Europe.
Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto says "a few hundred people" worked on the project.

Fallout: New Vegas

Developer Obsidian Entertainment

Release 2010

Leif Johnson

Fallout 3 was entertaining enough, but Fallout: New Vegas is unforgettable. This is the story of the Courier, who almost dies after the all-important package he was transporting gets stolen outside of post-apocalyptic Sin City. Yet the main tale isn't as fascinating as everything that surrounds it, whether it's the many factions the Courier builds reputations with, the many choices regarding how to handle volatile situations, or even the sense of humor sprinkled into its several staggering hours of content. It was even fun in action, as it allowed for special attacks through the series' V.A.T.S. combat system and new animations for melee kills.

Did you know?

Bethesda handed development over to Obsidian because it was busy with Skyrim.
The plot draws from that of the original, unfinished Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios.
New Vegas contains 25,000 more lines of dialogue than Fallout 3.

Bloodborne

Developer FromSoftware

Release 2015

Leif Johnson

To the untrained eye, Bloodborne may seem like Dark Souls in different clothes. But oh, what clothes they are. Bloodborne's gothic, vaguely Lovecraftian setting of Yharnam is just as sad as it is unsettling, and the haunting violins of the score rub that sadness ever deeper into your soul. But it also plays well, opting for a far more aggressive style than what you get in director Hidetaka Miyazaki's other creations, forcing players to take increasingly larger risks for the sweet, sweet rewards. There are minimal options for long-ranged and magic and the only shield you do find is little more than a sick joke — all you have to stay alive is the intensity of a blade against the hostile Victorian darkness.

Did you know?

Bloodborne's working title was Project Beast.
Romania and the Czech Republic inspired the bulk of its world's architectural design.
The soundtrack alone took over two years to make.

Mass Effect

Developer BioWare

Release 2007

Leif Johnson

What would Star Trek look like if humans still carried big guns and all of Gene Roddenberry's '60s goofiness was thrown out the airlock? Bioware showed us a decade ago, and that vision captivates us even today. The first entry isn't as strong as the two games that followed, thanks in part to the weak AI in combat and those tedious rides in the Mako across dull alien terrain. But few if any games before had nailed voice acting, facial animations, and character models with such perfection, to the point that it feels like an interactive movie in the best sense of the term. RPGs would never be the same again.

Did you know?

Mass Effect was imagined as a trilogy from the very start.
The races in the Mass Effect universe bear striking similarities to those in 1993's Master of Orion.
Director Casey Hudson also directed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Developer Bethesda Game Studios

Release 2011

Meghan Sullivan

There's so much to love about Bethesda's 2011 open-world masterpiece The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes it so special. Could it be its breathtaking world full of snowcapped mountains and shady woodlands? The thrill of battling fire-breathing dragons so you can suck out their souls and use their power? Could it be the endless exploration available on its titanic map? Perhaps it's the thousands of Skyrim mods that allow players to do everything from improve textures to change a dragon into a flying Macho Man Randy Savage (oooooh, yeah!). Or maybe it comes down to the game's impressive malleability: you can craft any type of hero you want, go where you want, do what you want, and do it when you want. Yes, there are myriad reasons to love one of the best-selling video game of all time, but one thing is for sure: you really don't play Skyrim. You live it.

Did you know?

Skyrim's map is huge, but it's no match for The Elder Scrolls: Arena's map, which is almost as large as Australia.
The voice of the dragon Paarthurnax — actor Charles Martinet — is most famously the voice of Mario.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate

Developer Origin Systems

Release 1992

Chloi Rad

Ultima VII: The Black Gate built on the Ultima series in new, even revolutionary ways. It shed the famously clunky UI of previous games to allow more of its refreshingly detailed world to shine through. Instead, checking your inventory or looting happened in pop-up menus, which not only carried into future Ultima titles, but games outside the RPG genre too. Ultima VII also dropped the strict, grid-based approach to movement, introduced dialogue trees, and went real-time. Its innovations to the format are matched only by its impressive interactivity and the non-linearity of its main plot. You’re free to roam around its open world, pick up sidequests, forge weapons, bake bread, hang out in a pub, and even committ crimes. Ultima VII managed to root itself comfortably in the conventions it created, but still have the sophistication to move forward in awesome new ways.

Did you know?

The first mainline Ultima game to use dialogue trees.
The last Ultima game developed by Origin, before Electronic Arts.

System Shock 2

Developer Irrational, Looking Glass

Release 1999

Brendan Graeber

Smartly combining themes of action, role playing, survival horror, and first-person shooters, System Shock 2 expertly defies simply being a great RPG, showing how innovative mechanics that play off each other can make a game more than the sum of its parts. It also pioneered several methods of storytelling through gameplay that we take for granted — like finding doomed audio logs or reliving echoes of the past that urge you to piece together the larger puzzle of what's really going on. The unsettling and moody atmosphere of the derelict starship go hand in hand with bioengineered horrors that roam free to create the perfect horror environment, and leave you feeling terrified no matter which of the many skills you choose to give your character. There's always multiple ways to solve a problem, letting you get truly creative in ways that never feel out of place with the character you've built.

Did you know?

Its original working title was Junction Point, until Electronics Arts suggested turning it into a System Shock sequel.
Despite its critical acclaim, System Shock 2 was a commercial failure, selling only 58,671 copies in its first eight months.

Final Fantasy IV

Developer Square

Release 1991

Meghan Sullivan

Long ago, before Noctis went on his epic road trip and Lightning bounced between timelines, the Dark Knight Cecil fought his inner demons (and a few space monsters) in Final Fantasy IV. A pivotal entry in the Final Fantasy series, IV eschewed simple storytelling mechanics and set out to create a deliciously frothy soap opera, complete with love triangles, increasingly exotic locals (the moon, y'all), and a classic "brothers-separated-at-birth" reveal. The only thing that matched its ambitious storytelling was its equally ambitious combat mechanics. Final Fantasy IV ushered the Active Time Battle system into the series, fundamentally changing the way Final Fantasy games were played for nearly a decade. These features, combined with charming 2D sprites, sweeping music, and timeless themes of love, betrayal, and redemption, are why Final Fantasy IV is still fondly remembered long after its heroes saved the Blue Planet from impending doom.

Did you know?

Originally released in North America with the title Final Fantasy II, because the two installments before had not been localized for NA yet.
The first Final Fantasy to introduce the Active Time Battle system.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Developer Bethesda Game Studios

Release 2002

Chloi Rad

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind wasn’t just the first truly modern game in the long-running series, but the one that laid the foundation for all the ones to follow. A smart, action-dependent approach to leveling lets players build out their character naturally, rather than adjusting numbers in a stat menu. An abundance of quests and the freedom to carve out your own path in its world is almost overwhelming. Its visuals were technically impressive for the time and imaginatively stylish enough to hold up even today, making the island of Vvardenfell one of the most memorable settings in the series. But the wonder of Morrowind isn’t a mere technical one. The huge scope and scale of Bethesda’s vision, its overwhelming sense of awe and mystery, and the freedom found therein make it still worth a visit today.

Did you know?

The island of Vvardenfell contains a couple references to SomethingAwful creator Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka.
It was Bethesda's first major game produced for consoles.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

Developer Quest

Release 1998

Chloi Rad

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was unlike other turn-based tactics games at the time. It stands out with its dark, riveting storyline inspired by real-life events like the Yugoslav Wars and Bosnian Genocide. The focus on more serious themes means players are often forced to make difficult decisions with sometimes devastating moral implications. With a non-linear plot modeled after visual novels and full of branching paths, turning points, and multiple endings, Tactics Ogre became more than a mere strategy RPG.

Did you know?

The subtitle "Let Us Cling Together" is a reference to a Queen song called "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)."

EarthBound

Developer Ape, Hal Laboratory

Release 1995

Andrew Goldfarb

EarthBound is a weird, wonderful game about four kids who save the world. Early proof that not all RPGs need fantasy settings, EarthBound is one of the best turn-based RPGs of the 16-bit era and takes place in a town that feels like it could be anywhere in middle America. That modern setting mixed with bizarre, offbeat humor makes it a unique experience and has helped it maintain its cult status as something special and very different from its contemporaries. EarthBound has a great turn-based battle system and weird enemies that fully embrace the game’s eccentric sense of humor, plus unique twists on the RPG formula like homesickness as a status ailment and calling your dad to save your game.

Most of all, EarthBound has a tremendous amount of heart. Underneath its goofy jokes and pop culture references is a genuinely great, sweet story about a group of kids who are risking a lot to make the world a better place, and the final battle is an extremely clever, moving way to incorporate the people our heroes meet along their journey. EarthBound is a truly special, exceptionally funny game that stands out even among Super Nintendo’s gigantic library of other great RPGs.

Did you know?

The name Ness is an intentional reference to NES, the abbreviation for Nintendo Entertainment System.
Co-developer Ape, Inc. cited The Beatles' John Lennon as one inspiration for Earthbound's music.
The American version came packaged with a walkthrough.

Final Fantasy Tactics

Developer Square

Release 1998

Marty Sliva

With Final Fantasy Tactics, Yasumi Matsuno took everything we thought was sacred about the Final Fantasy series and turned it on its head. While Tactics maintained the familiar creatures and archetypes we all knew and loved, it introduced us to the world of Ivalice, and leaned heavily into the Job system introduced in Final Fantasy V. While the core stable of characters provided a ton of memorable drama, being able to recruit generic characters and fashion them into roles ranging from simple (Knight and Wizard) to downright bizarre (Mime and Calculator) led to an infinite well of depth. While you had to put in some effort to wrap your head around the tactical battle system, the rewarding feeling of mastering the complex systems made it absolutely worth it.

Did you know?

Director Yasumi Matsuno said Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story are both set in the world of Ivalice.
Sold 1.24 million copies its first year in Japan.

Suikoden II

Developer Konami

Release 1999

Justin Davis

Suikoden II is a special RPG for so, so many reasons. It perfectly balances intimate character drama and friendship with end-of-the-world heroics. Luca Blight is an especially twisted and evil villain in a genre filled with great villains. And of course it’s incredibly rewarding and addictive to solve minigames and puzzles to recruit all 108 hidden characters. A shockingly high number of them can be taken into battle with you, and all of them enrich your castle with interesting dialogue and improvements. Suikoden II’s warm soundtrack and art, snappy combat, and Game of Thrones-esque political storyline are all fantastic, but it’s this castle building minigame-to-end-all-minigames that truly sets the game apart. Your castle is your home, and filling it with artists, shopkeepers, alliance leaders, and so many more friends and comrades results in an incredibly satisfying mixture of gameplay, story, and friendship.

Did you know?

Suikoden II is one of the first game sequels to change slightly based off save data imported from the original.
It had a very small English print run on PSX. It was almost impossible to play for less than $200 before it was re-released on PSN for $10.

Deus Ex

Developer Ion Storm

Release 2000

Dan Stapleton

Nearly two decades later, Ion Storm’s Deus Ex is remembered for showing how even a large and detailed world full of well-written characters could be intuitively interactive and responsive to our actions. It throws you into a near-future world of conspiracy and espionage and gives you the freedom to fight, sneak, talk, or hack your way out of every situation – if you’ve chosen the right upgrades. Multiple paths to every objective reveal themselves through experimentation and clever, oftentimes hilarious manipulation of the AI. It’s an early example of how great level design and complex gameplay systems can come together to create some amazing experiences that feel unique to your playthrough.

Did you know?

You can beat the entire game without killing a single NPC.
Deus Ex accidentally predicted the future by portraying New York City without the World Trade Center towers, a year before the 9/11 attacks.
Game director Warren Spector didn't like the opening music, until he realized he had it stuck in his head and decided to keep it.

Fallout 2

Developer Black Isle Studios

Release 1998

Dan Stapleton

Coming just a year after the groundbreaking original Fallout, 1998’s Fallout 2 somehow found the time to improve on it in nearly every way. Building on the “go where you want, kill who you want” freedom of the open-world exploration and turn-based tactical combat foundation, Fallout 2 tells many small stories, each with their own important-feeling resolutions inside its larger plot, making it flexible enough to allow you to make the wasteland your own. The setting is diverse and dense, thanks to an even-larger slice of the post-apocalyptic West Coast inhabited by everything from primitive tribespeople battling giant insects to the Brotherhood of Steel standing against terrors brought by the power-armored Enclave and brutish supermutants. Throughout it all, there’s an injection of pop-culture humor that keeps the dark mood from becoming oppressive, so no matter which direction you set out in you never know if you’ll find something terrible or sad or funny.

Did you know?

It’s possible to beat Fallout 2 without fighting, but not without killing at least two characters.
There's an Easter egg hidden in the basem*nt of a New Reno gun shop — literally an Easter egg.
A holotape in the game says a computer named SkyNet started the nuclear war. SkyNet is the AI responsible for nuclear war in Terminator.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Developer BioWare

Release 2003

Brendan Graeber

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was not only one of the first to let you truly explore the vast untapped universe of Star Wars before the events of the films, but let everyone play out the ultimate fantasy of becoming a Jedi Knight (or a Sith Lord!) in what is probably the best and most satisfying execution of a binary good/evil choice system in a game. Knights of the Old Republic also offered up a great cast of side characters with intriguing and complex relationships (not to mention the best snarky assassin droid this meatbag could ever ask for), and set up one of the greatest player character twists in an RPG.

Did you know?

KOTOR was one of the first RPGs on Xbox.
There are roughly 100 voice actors, 300 characters, and 15,000 spoken lines featured in the game.
One copy of the complete KOTOR script takes up 10 five-inch binders.

Persona 4 Golden

Developer Atlus

Release 2012

Zachary Ryan

Part murder mystery, part supernatural dungeon crawler, Persona 4 Golden is all JRPG goodness. Its quaint Japanese setting is in stark contrast to the dark secrets its characters harbor, and that's what makes P4G so great. By the end of its 70-ish hour campaign, you geniunely care about this quirky cast of misfits, so much so that you'll meticulously curate your schedule to ensure that you have the time to spend with each of your in-game pals equally. Persona 4 Golden on Vita takes the foundation built by the PlayStation 2 classic and adds new social links, new personas, and of course, the ability to play this amazing adventure anywhere you want, making it the definitive edition of a seminal RPG.

Did you know?

Persona 4 Golden's debut on PlayStation Vita resulted in a boost in sales for the Sony handheld.
Plastic models in the main character's room are based on demons from Digital Devil Saga, spin-offs of the Shin Megami Tensei series.
In Japan, there have been Persona 4 manga, anime and even a live stage production.

Dark Souls

Developer FromSoftware

Release 2011

Chloi Rad

FromSoftware has been redefining the RPG since King’s Field. While Demon’s Souls was the first game to introduce modern gamers to the studio’s uniquely unforgiving approach to the genre, FromSoftware really hit their stride in its spiritual successor, Dark Souls. With a focus on exploration, Dark Souls pushes players to experiment and take risks in ways few action RPGs have before, and in which few have truly captured since. It defies the hand-holding nature of its peers and forces us to make mistakes in order to grow — whether that means learning how to cautiously navigate its deadly world, take down one of its many imposing bosses, or just level our stats properly. It creates massive challenges out of combat situations that would be minor in any other game, making every moment memorable and every small victory an exhilarating reward.

Did you know?

Dark Souls is considered a spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, which is a spiritual successor to FromSoftware's first game, King's Field.
The series bears several striking similarities to the manga Berserk, a major influence on director Hidetaka Miyazaki.
Early ideas for a title were "Dark Race" and "Dark Ring," but both were scrapped due to controversial connotations overseas.

Mass Effect 2

Developer BioWare

Release 2012

Miranda Sanchez

By the time we've returned to Commander Shepard in this sequel, we have an idea of the threats and mysteries looming over the Milky Way. Mass Effect 2 gives us the chance to get to know them on a personal level with revamped combat that greatly improves upon its predecessor. Mass Effect 2's creative take on RPG systems are more welcoming with its blend of third-person shooter mechanics, and its variety and focus on the new squad members make for a memorable (and sometimes heartbreaking) campaign.

Did you know?

Importing a completed saved game from the first Mass Effect can change elements of the story.
Commander Shepard is named after the first American astronaut in space, Alan Shepard.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Developer CD Projekt RED

Release 2015

Zachary Ryan

You can spend hundreds of hours exploring The Witcher 3's expansive continent and surrounding isles and still not have seen even a fraction of what this world has to offer. The saga of Geralt comes to a supremely satisfying conclusion in what's absolutely the best game in CD Projekt Reds' acclaimed RPG series. What begins as a quest to find your lost love becomes an engrossing tale full of unforgettable characters, terrifying enemies, and genuine heart. Even the smallest side quests are thoughtful affairs and many of the main story arcs feature some of the most poignant narrative beats we've encountered in any game. Couple its stellar storytelling with deep character customization and a challenging and rewarding combat system and it's easy to see why IGN gave The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt our Game of the Year award for 2015.

Did you know?

Doug co*ckle, the English voice of Geralt, bought a console to play The Witcher 3 — the first Witcher game he decided to play.
Developers at CD Projekt Red cited Dark Souls as a major influence on The Witcher 3's combat system.
Dynamic beard growth causes Geralt's facial hair to grow in over time.

Vagrant Story

Developer Square

Release 2000

Zachary Ryan

For all intents and purposes, Vagrant Story should not have been a PlayStation game. The sheer volume of systems interacting with each other and the top notch graphics should have crippled the Sony's little system. But somehow, we got to experience Yasumi Matsuno's dungeon crawling masterpiece mere months before the PS2's US launch. You play as Ashley Riot, a member of the elite "Riskbreaker" unit of the Valendia Knights of Peace. Dropped into a haunted city in the middle of a civil war, you must contend with religious zealots, cult leaders, and all manners of ghosts and monsters as you unravel the mysteries of Leá Monde and uncover the truth behind the murder of a Duke. Heavy stuff for a PSX game, but it's handled masterfully through beautiful art direction and some extremely impressive localization. You can also craft gear, chain abilities in combat, explore a massive dungeon called "The Iron Maiden," target specific body parts on enemies, employ super moves, solve puzzles in 360 degree environments, and take on some of the toughest enemies Square Enix ever created. Vagrant Story is the definition of a cult classic, and is undisputedly worthy of the number nine spot on this list.

Did you know?

Vagrant Story's plot is called The Phantom Pain, and in EGM's April 2000 issue, it refers to the game as Medieval Gear Solid.
Final Fantasy XII contains several references to Vagrant Story including the terms Riskbreaker and Leámonde.

Diablo II

Developer Blizzard North

Release 2000

Brandin Tyrrel

What many consider not just the pinnacle of the Diablo series, but the pinnacle of the isometric action RPG genre we’ve come to know and love, Diablo II is truly something more than its parts. From its dark, moody music and visual trappings, to its lengthy and lofty story, Blizzard’s return to its series that pits angels against demons with man trapped in the middle is a masterclass in atmospheric adventuring. Made both accessible and engaging by its unique classes and skills, the endless satisfaction of its kill and loot gameplay, and its near limitless equipment variety and character customization, Diablo II's cooperative play and item trading helped to successfully foster not only a communal spirit in each procedurally generated level of each dank dungeon, but one of the greatest roleplaying experiences of all time.

Did you know?

The Guinness Book of World Records 2000 awarded Diablo the title of fastest-selling PC game after it sold one million copies in two weeks.
Diablo II's infamous secret cow level spawned as a result of a (false) rumor about a secret cow level in the first Diablo.
Blizzard designed Diablo II with online multiplayer in mind.

Secret of Mana

Developer Square

Release 1993

Meghan Sullivan

During the 1990s, developer Squaresoft was the undisputed king of JRPGs, and Secret of Mana was one of the most dazzling jewels in its crown. Even now we still remember the action RPG fondly: its bright, candy-colored world was a joy to explore, the action-based combat was easy to learn and fun to do, and its inventory ringlets made navigating menus refreshingly simple. Then there was the breathtaking soundtrack, celebrated for its mix of cheerful tunes and haunting melodies. But the most memorable feature was the multiplayer. Secret of Mana would let up to three players participate in combat, so long as they had an extra controller or two lying around and the correct peripheral accessory for the SNES. In short, Secret of Mana was, and still is, a magical RPG.

Did you know?

Secret of Mana was originally supposed to be a launch title for the unreleased SNES-CD.
Director Koichi Ishii estimates about 40% of the game was cut so it would fit on an SNES cartridge.
The game was translated into English in just 30 days.

Planescape: Torment

Developer Black Isle Studios

Release 1999

Chloi Rad

The creators of Planescape: Torment aimed to subvert RPG clichés from the start, and the result is what several critics have called one of the best-written and most imaginative video games ever created. Despite being rooted in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting and adhering to Advanced D&D 2nd Edition rules, so much of Planescape: Torment is driven by sharp and engaging dialogue instead of combat. It takes the static alignment system of Dungeons & Dragons — a framework that has inspired RPGs from the beginning — and flips it on its head, daring to ask bigger questions about the nature of “right” and “wrong,” and making every single decision one to remember. Planescape: Torment’s experimental approach to RPG norms, twisted sense of humor, strikingly dark, but fresh setting, and tendency to elevate even the most minor conversations with weighty philosophical questions combine to create a unique personality unsurpassed in the last two decades.

Did you know?

The script for the dialogue-heavy Planescape: Torment is a whopping 800,000 words.
Producer Guido Henkel appears as the iconic blue Nameless One on the game's box art.
Despite being considered one of the best RPGs ever made, Planescape: Torment didn't sell well.

World of Warcraft

Developer Blizzard Entertainment

Release 2004

Justin Davis

When it initially launched in 2004, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft rapidly became the most popular and beloved MMORPG ever made thanks to its accessibility, exceptionally high degree of polish, and its sheer size and scope. Even if WoW never evolved past this vanilla state, it would still be remembered fondly as an incredible RPG filled with epic dungeons, surprisingly compelling Player vs. Player encounters, satisfying non-combat crafting and social gameplay, and more well-written, hand-crafted quests and adventures than it felt possible for a single RPG to contain. But what elevates World of Warcraft above “Great” and into “Greatest of All-Time” discussions is the care and attention Blizzard has poured into the game in the 13 years since. The game has never stood still. Completely new worlds, revamped old worlds, balanced and well-integrated new classes, risky storytelling, and an almost impossible-to-count volume of quality-of-life improvements have made an already amazing game experience even more amazing, more than a decade later.

Did you know?

World of Warcraft reached peak subscriptions in October 2010, at 12 million subscribers.
It contained a whopping 40,000 NPCs... four expansions ago, in 2009.
Between 2004 and 2011, humans have collectively spent nearly 6 million years playing World of Warcraft.

Pokémon Yellow

Developer Game Freak

Release 1999

Miranda Sanchez

Pokémon Yellow culminates the fantastic RPG system from Pokémon Red and Blue and mashes them into context with story beats from the great Pokémon anime. Perhaps one of Pokémon Yellow's best improvements is also its most notable: Pikachu. Having the creature follow you on your journey helped further transform the monsters from simply being a team of fighters to a team of your best friends. Pokémon Yellow also serves updated sprites, Charizard can learn Fly, and a slew of other narrative changes further cement it as the best way to experience the most influential Pokémon game.

Did you know?

Nintendo released a special, Pikachu-themed Game Boy Color alongside Pokémon Yellow.
Pokémon Yellow was one of a handful of games compatible with the Game Boy Printer, letting players print Pokédex entries onto stickers.
It remains the only core series Pokémon game where the player can't choose their own starter Pokémon.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Developer BioWare

Release 2000

Steve Butts

In a medium that sees regular and massive advances in graphics and processing power, the relative low-fi appearance of Baldur’s Gate II might seem insufficient. But it’s a testament to the power of the storytelling and mechanics of Baldur’s Gate that the series still delivers a roleplaying experience that’s as good or better than games released 15 years later. Following on the success of Baldur’s Gate in 1998, BioWare surpassed gamers’ expectations with the sequel. In addition to the robust implementation of the current D&D rules, Baldur’s Gate II included massive environments, thrilling turn-based tactical combat, and enough side quests to fill any fantasy lover’s bookshelf. But the real stars of the game were the characters and the story. From the terrifying and complicated villain to the lovable, and lovably hilarious Minsc, Baldur’s Gate II was a fantasy epic as big and wonderful as the genre could hold. If you haven’t played it, you should. And remember, go for the eyes!

Did you know?

Baldur's Gate II's immense size — 300 total hours and 290 quests — made it a "tester's nightmare," said co-executive producer Ray Muzyka.
Despite being in its title and one of the settings of the first game, the city of Baldur's Gate is never visited in the sequel.
The game is dedicated to late BioWare employee Daniel Walker.

Final Fantasy VI

Developer Square

Release 1994

Meghan Sullivan

Compared to its cheerfully optimistic brethren, Final Fantasy VI is a breath of fresh (albeit bleak) air. It dares to answer the question “what if the bad guy wins?” by actually letting the bad guy win halfway through the story. It isn’t shy about tackling uncomfortable subjects like war, genocide, forbidden love, and suicide. It eschews the myopic viewpoint of a single, designated protagonist in order to tell a larger, more emotionally-charged tale. This willingness to explore heavy themes and unthinkable outcomes — made all the more poignant when set against dramatic set pieces and a soaring score — is one of the biggest reasons why Squaresoft’s 1994 magnum opus is so very special. Its unconventional gameplay is another reason: FFVI casts off the rigid class system of previous Final Fantasies and allows any one of the 14 heroes to use magic so long as they equip magical shards. Its mini tower-defense games break up the monotony of random battles, while each character’s unique combat abilities means everyone serves a purpose. Nothing feels redundant or wasted in Final Fantasy VI. It’s truly like no other RPG.

Did you know?

Final Fantasy music composer Nobuo Uematsu has said Final Fantasy VI has his favorite score
Terra is actually Tina in the Japanese version, but playtesters hated it.
Real life professional wrestler Joshua Harter's ring name is Chris Sabin, a reference to Sabin Figaro.

Chrono Trigger

Developer Square

Release 1995

Meghan Sullivan

Creating a Top 100 RPGs list was quite the challenge, but placing Chrono Trigger at the very top of it was surprisingly easy. Over 20 years after Square's epoch-making epic launched on the SNES, we’re still gobsmacked by its originality and ingenuity. The seamless transition between the world map full of visible, avoidable enemies and combat was a revelation in a time where most RPGs featured jarring random battles, and even today makes monster encounters a joy instead of a chore. The plucky courage and determination of its adolescent heroes (combined with the memorable art style of Akira Toriyama) makes for instantly memorable characters. And its brilliant introduction of time travel as both a storytelling vessel and gameplay mechanic is proof that story and gameplay don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Couple all this with multiple endings and one of the greatest game soundtracks ever made, and it’s easy to see why Chrono Trigger is our top-ranking RPG of all time.

Did you know?

Chrono Trigger has 13 unique endings.
Nornstein Bekkler has the same laugh as Kefka Palazzo from Final Fantasy VI.
There is a Programmer's Room hidden in the game, where the developers left messages for players.

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