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The Top 50 Best RPGs of all Time Ever List! The best JRPGs, PC RPGs (CRPGs), and Western Role Playing Games
So if you've been googling best Role Playing Games lists for a few years now, you might have stumbled across iterations of my list. What started as a Top 20 best RPG games list evolved into a top 40, and now we have... The Top 50 Greatest RPGs of all Time list!
This top RPG list spans the eras of RPG gaming from the old school NES and SNES JRPGs, to Playstation classics, to more modern free to play MMORPGs and MMOs. From the Sega Dreamcast gems to modern PC Western RPGs.
Note: some of your favorites will not appear here, I probably just haven't played them. Oh, and I decided to widen my list to include strategy RPGs (aka tactical RPGS) and action RPGS for more variety!
Updated: 10/02/2024
This top 50 best RPG list is not set in stone, so please tell me what I should play. At the end of the list are both a poll of what I should play next, and a comment box. I strongly encourage you argue the case for your favorite RPG(s), and I might get around to playing it/them. I openly invite discussion and controversy, so feel free to tell me why my list sucks in the comments ;) I would rather have such discussion on a video game forum or message board, but facebook has pretty much killed that form of social networking. Oh and firefox adblock users will have to enable htmlcomment box for the comments to work (if you find a more accessible script, please let me know!). Anyway... On to the list!
50. Exodus Ultima
I remember buying this game dirt cheap from a friend, because from the cartridge art, I knew it had to be an RPG (or maybe a really lame adventure game)! And it was, and a difficult one at that. I didn't play it all too much, mainly because I didn't really know or care about where I was supposed to go. It was pretty fun though for the most part; I liked how you could create your entire party's character class, and I also thought the battles were fun (kind of like a really primitive strategy RPG). But the best part of this whole game (well, the little I played), was that you could attack the innocent townspeople, and then get attacked (and killed) by the village guards. And it's almost as fun as doing the same thing in real life.
49. Kartia
So there was a time during the PS 1 era where I had to play as many strategy RPGs as I possibly could. And so, I found Kartia. Not the greatest of its sub genre, but enough to satiate my lust for all that is strategy RPG. I remember being particularly fond of the terrain altering spells and the "paper, rock, scissors" hierarchy of the various phantoms you can create and use in battle.
48. Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
Having spent a significant portion of my adolescence playing the first PSO as a goofy looking jester dude, (simply because he was the best at offensive magic) I was thrilled with the prospect of this Gamecube game. Finally, I could play as a less degrading, more manly mage character... all a clad in my fearsome... dress? Yes, if you want to be the most imposing magic user in the PSO games you need to either be a clown (don't forget your pointy shoes), or a "robe" wearing sissypants. Well, at least you could make your dress/robe flame colored, and there were plenty of cool death scythe like weapons to acquire to make you look more fearsome... All in all a win? But in the end I'm still pretty much playing the same PSO I devoted hundreds of hours to in my youth, thus the lower rating.
47. Final Fantasy V
This game is great... But aren't most of the Final Fantasies!? I particularly enjoyed this game's "job type" battle engine, which was kind of a precursor to Final Fantasy Tactics's. That alone was enough to make me like this over some of the other Final Fantasy games, yes a good battle system is a must for an RPG, and a great battle system makes an otherwise good RPG excellent. Oh, and I'd like to note that X Death is the coolest villain name in any game, movie, or book to this day. I think I'll name my children X Death, Z Death, and LL Cool Death.
46. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords
The first half or so of this computer RPG was great, but it looks like they either ran out of a budget or were rushed into a release date, because the last half of the game doesn't seem... finished. That being said, it was still a lot of fun to play overall, and there were some great lightsaber upgrades!
45. Xenosaga
Remember all of those comments you've heard saying this game was just an "interactive movie" or "one really long cut-scene separated by a few 'dungeons?'" Well, those comments were true! Now that all being said, this game is still definitely worth playing, as the cut scene heavy plot line is really good and the battles, dungeons, etc are all pretty fun, if flawed.
One flaw example, at the very end of the game, I was STILL using the same attacks I had at the game's beginning. They were just damage upgraded versions of the same thing... Really, I shouldn't be able to defeat the last boss with skills I used to defeat the first one. That is just poor game design. And the mech battles... weren't just a "step down" from Xenogear's (which were actually good), but they were more of a "fall backwards down the steps and hit your head on rock bottom." Really, why are my characters causing more damage than the "doom robots" they command from time to time!?
All of that being said, I'm a sucker for a good story even if I have to play a not-so-great game to get it. And in spite of all of these criticisms... I still loved the game. I know I know, it sounds like I hate it, but the plot was great and I loved basically being able to essentially play out a mecha anime RPG.
44. Final Fantasy VIII
I have a kind of love-hate relationship with this game... (a very physical relationship too). The graphics and kind of "sci-fi/fantasy mixed" theme made this game feel a lot more "real" than most RPGs. Even though it has its share of sorceresses, knights, and mutated winged beasts. I really liked some of the characters too, most notably Seifer (who I wished would have just killed Squall and taken his place as "main character") and Edea, but the others get pretty annoying.
Now the plot in this game is great... that is until a little over half-way through, when it is abandoned completely (excepting in the ending of course), and replaced with one of the lamest and sappiest love stories ever. It made me want to cry... Not in happiness over the characters' love, but because I was in a state of revulsion over the specialness of it. Not that I hate love stories in games, but the "oh my goodness I fell out of a spaceship, come save me while a goofy love song plays in the background!" is pretty lame. Really, if I'm on a spaceship, and my "lover" falls out, I'm going to scream "woman overboard," throw her a flotation device (good luck using that in space!), and then let her fend for herself as I fly in another direction. I'll send roses later... And a nice card, something special like "I think you're far out! ... in space." Or "remember my name, because you'll be screaming it later... too bad you're in space and no one can hear it!"
Edit from 2024... Wow, kiddo me really hated the whole love story with this one, huh? As an adult(ish), I can relate to those themes more on an emotional level. I mean, how can you not love "Eyes On Me?!" Shame child me, shame...
43. Grandia 2
This underrated RPG isn't really for everybody. But I think it had a lot of charm that warrants play. Sure the main character is pretty annoying, but the supporting ones are all good, especially the "Wings of Valmar" chick. Multiple personalities are always funny in a video game... I liked the battle system of this game a lot too, which is why I think this game is a bit underrated. These days most RPG players are stuck on the whole "epic story and awesome visuals" concept that they don't even care whether or not the game is fun to play, and that makes me sad (cry for me). Anyway... The battles are set in almost the same perspective as Star Ocean's, only they aren't "realtime" per say. There is a little bar on the screen that shows in what order the players (and enemies) are going to attack, and then you can set up attacks that may interrupt the enemy's attack. Sound stupid? Well, play the game and you will see that it works well.
42. Suikoden
Though this game kind of has a cult following, I thought it was just an above average RPG experience. I really liked that the game had various battle systems (I especially liked the side scrolling army verses army affairs), but there were way too many characters to recruit (108 total I think) to properly flesh out their stories. The cool "build your own castle 'game'" was a lot of fun though!
41. Final Fantasy IX
I liked this game a lot when I played it, but nothing about it was overly memorable. The male villain wears a thong, the black mage Vivi is gonna die, chocobos like to dig holes in the ground... and that's about it. I did like it a lot better than VIII though. I with more modern Final Fantasies would return to their roots like this, but I guess that's the niche the Chrystal Chronicle games are meant to fill?
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