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? 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. Chris ReedIt 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.
Chris ReedRPG 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. Chris ReedTitan 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. Chris ReedIt’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. Chris ReedWhen 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. Chris ReedPillars 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.
If you love role-playing games (RPG),especially digital ones, then there has never been a better time to be a fan.Mobile gamers in particular have a huge variety of RPGs to choose from. Whowould have thought you could one day boot up Baldur’s Gate or Knights of theOld Republic on a smartphone?It’s not just classic Western RPGs that aregetting strong representation. Classic RPGs from Japan (JRPG) now have a secondlife on mobile devices. Many Western gamers missed out on some of these gemswhen released on their original platforms, which is a real shame. Now anyonewho owns an iOS or Android device can experience what so many JRPG fans haveloved for years. So, may your battles be turn-based and yourhair ever-spiky.
Unsheath those giant swords, summon your fantastical creaturesand let’s check out eight of the best classic JRPGs anyone can play on theirmobile devices. Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)Is Chrono Trigger the best JRPG of all time?It’s OK if you don’t think so, but you’ll be making plenty of online enemies ifyou’re too dismissive of this classic SNES game. With characters designed byAkira Toriyama of both Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest fame, the game has a uniqueand timeless look. You play as Crono, a plucky protagonist whogets into girl trouble. The trouble being that the girl in question is aprincess involved in world-shaking temporal shenanigans. The adventure takesyou across multiple time periods, where you’ll pick up an interesting cast ofparty members.With multiple endings, lots of content and afantastic active time battle system, even modern gamers will find plenty tolove here. The mobile version has recently received a major overhaul and playslike a dream, even on touch screens.
This should come preinstalled on everyphone and tablet, it’s that good. In this game you take on the role of Alex, ayoung man who hungers for adventure. Along with his tubby friend Ramus, theenchanting songstress Luna and his flying cat/dragon thing, Alex gets involvedin some pretty epic adventures.The world of Lunar is beautiful and stillrather unique in its visual design. It’s mostly set in a cold climate,characters wear interesting costumes and the English localization is both funnyand sharply written. There are good arguments that the sequel, Lunar 2 EternalBlue, is the better game, but you need to play both to get the whole story.Sadly, the second game isn’t out on mobiledevices and there’s no indication that it ever will be. So we should just behappy that this wonderful game is just a few app-store taps away.Get it on.
Final Fantasy VII (and Others)(PS1, 1997)Let’s not kid ourselves, the alien lizardpeople hiding on the moon have heard of the Final Fantasy series. Among thismulti-decade collection of games, number seven is arguably the most beloved. Asit stands, you can get all the FF games up to number nine as mobile apps, withthe sad exception of number eight.FF7 is getting a modern remake that will bereleased in episodic format, but that takes nothing away from the historicalimportance and utter charm of the original. There are barely any platforms youcan’t get this game on, but it works perfectly on modern touch devices and lookssuper-sharp, despite the low-poly character models.Get it on. Dragon Quest V (and Others)(SNES, 1992)Mention Final Fantasy and you have to mentionDragon Quest, the other majorforefather of the JRPG genre.
The series favorite is probably number eight,which is also available on mobile. However, that port is lackluster and you’dbe better off playing the superior 3DS version. You play as Lenneth Valkyrie, tasked withchoosing the souls of great warriors to fight alongside the gods at Ragnarok.Still, is that all there is to this story? What truths lurk behind your missionas a Valkyrie? It’s totally worth taking on this journey to find the answers.Get it on and Secret of Mana (SNES, 1993)Secret of Mana is a SNES original that isactually the sequel to a game that was called Final Fantasy Adventure in North America.
Confused yet? Well, allyou really need to know about Secret of Mana is that it’s absolutely beloved inthe JRPG world. It’s not a turn-based game as most JRPGs ofthe era were. Instead it’s an action RPG that will satisfy those hack and slashurges. You can take direct control of anyone in your party, with the computerhandling the other characters when you’re busy directing yours.Unfortunately you can’t take advantage of theunique multiplayer feature Secret of Mana has on the mobile versions, but it’sstill an important and worthy title to experience on your own.Get it on and Ys Chronicles I (TurboGrafx-CD,1989)The Ys games from Nihon Falcom are also notyour traditional turn-based RPG fare.
Nor is it a hack-and-slash button masher.Nope, the Ys games have their own totally-unique “bump” battle mechanic.Basically you and the enemy dance around each other and smash into one anotherlike bumper cars. The first one to lose all HP loses the battle.