Rate Your RPGs

[Hawki]

I was going to throw in a title such as "Rate Your RPGs Reasonably" or "Roll R for RPG," but when you start throwing around titles such as "Rate Your RPGs Rambunciously," you know you're overthinking things. And misspelling them as well, given the red squiggly line under that word. So, anyway, after dredging up a top 10 action games list, and giving a pitiful entry on the GOTY list, I asked, "what other arbitrary list of ten can I dredge up?" Well, there was a top 10 FPS list not too long ago that I took part in, top 10 RTS is probably too fringe a genre to get that many entries, but I could do a top 10 RPG list, right? I mean, it's not as if my top 10 is only slightly less newbish than the top 10 action games I did, right? Side effect of me generally (key word, "generally") enjoying RPGs, but not playing that many given the huge time investment generally required.

Well, anyway, basically it's the top 10 game with the caveat of no caveats. I.e. any genre that has "RPG" in the title of its classification can count. So no nonsense like "(insert sub-genre here) isn't a REAL RPG," or somesuch. Course that's partially covering my own arse, but, yeah. So, personal top ten, and I'll kick things off:

10) Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
9) Diablo
8) Torchlight
7) Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
6) Diablo III
5) Golden Sun: The Lost Age
4) Xenoblade Chronicles
3) Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
2) Golden Sun: The Broken Seal
1) Mass Effect

I'd originally planned to discuss each of these at length, but that would take far too much time. So discuss, respond, ask me "how the heck can you have Dark Dawn on your list when you spend most of your time ragging on it?" or "where's Diablo II?", or storm off muttering that "real men don't play RPGs." You know who you are... ;P

 

[distortedreality]

Hmm....

1 - Chrono Trigger
2 - Deus Ex
3 - The Witcher 3
4 - KoToR 2
5 - Fallout New Vegas
6 - The Witcher 2
6 - Skyrim
7 - Deus Ex HR
8 - KoToR 1
9 - Mass Effect 1
10 - Shadowrun Dragonfall

Other than the top three, the rest are pretty interchangeable I think.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Ok why not lets see :-

1. FFVII (easy choice)
2. Xenoblade Chronicles (another easy choice)

Rest dont really occupy as strong a position in my mind in that they can change place from time to time.

3. The Last Story
4. KOTOR
5. Persona 4
6. Lost Odyssey
7. FFVI
8. FFX
9. Demons Souls
10. Disgaea

Would have added Blood Omen legacy of Kain and Valkyria Chronicles but I dont class them as RPGs.

 

[Foolery]

Top RPGs, huh?

1) Lost Odyssey
2) Shin Megami Tensei IV/Apocalypse
3) Final Fantasy XII
4) Final Fantasy IV
5) Breath of Fire 3
6) Valkyrie Profile
7) Chrono Trigger
8) Pokemon Silver
9) Pokemon Fire Red
10) Dark Souls

These are the RPGs that have stuck with me over the years, with a couple recent additions. It's somewhat of an eclectic mix.
I enjoy character-driven games the most, with a story that isn't too over the top. Like Breath of Fire 3, which less of the typical 'save the world' JRPG, and more of just faffing about with friends.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I'm still expecting an angry quote in the 'top 10 action games' list from someone pointing out that I used third-person shooters and beat-em-ups but for this list I don't think I'll be as much of an ass though with that being said, there's a part of me that really wants to put an Honorable Mention up for games like FTL: Faster than Light and Papers, Please. This is because in FTL you are literally playing the role of a ship captain and in Papers, Please you're playing the role of a totally-not-soviet boarder checkpoint guard. Additionally, sim games could qualify here since in games like Theme Park and Roller Coaster Tycoon, you play the role of the guy in charge of...well, a theme park (among other roles).

Anyway, role playing top 10...this one is gonna be hard since mine changes a lot but let me give it a shot anyway:

1. Final Fantasy IV - I can never decide on my favorite Final Fantasy...it's usually the one I'm currently playing at the time unless its most of them in which case it's a constant three-way struggle between IV, VI, and IX. I chose IV here because I think it has the tightest narrative. It's not as grandiose as VI wherein an insane clown becomes God and you get to kill it at the end but it still sends you to space to kill a psychic, malevolent moon-parasite...God. I really liked all of the character moments in this game too, specifically the growth Cecil goes through. I guess it also gets points for being easy going: I love Sabin but I don't like inputting combos to make him suplex God. It beats out IX here because it doesn't have Limit Breaks and thus can't force me to use them immediately. Also, Zemus isn't as out-of-nowhere as Necron and, Golbez was more intimidating than Kuja.

2. Metroid: Fusion - I played this one before Super Metroid and yet somehow, Fusion has stuck out more strongly in my memory. Maybe it's because Fusion feels more like a straight-forward narrative or maybe its because the X-parasites are freaking terrifying. It was a hard choice and Fusion was the game that gave Samus an awful personality but it was also the Metroid which introduced freaking Nightmare. I really liked the use of the SA-X in the game too; it was very Resi-Nemesis and it was a nice reminder that even though you're getting stronger as you make it through the game, you're still not going to have a chance against this one thing if it puts its mind to killing you.

3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Like with Final Fantasy, I had trouble picking between this one, Aria of Sorrow and, Dawn of Sorrow...and Curse of Darkness but I went with Symphony because it's cliche'd it's a really solid, really fun game with a ton of stuff to do...that you can do in more than one order...that's attached to a really good story...and has more than one satisfying ending.

4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - A much longer time ago, roughly 4,000 years, in a galaxy that's very familiar you play as someone who can become a Jedi in what is remembered as one of the most loved games on the Xbox. A game so beloved that elements from it are being reintroduced into the current Disney-Approved Star Wars canon. This plays like a lot of other Bioware RPGs but it's about Star Wars, its written by Drew Karpyshyn and it's making me rethink keeping Mass Effect on this list since those points are going to come back up in a few paragraphs...

5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - The Legend of Zelda games are story-driven games wherein you play the role of Link, the hero of time. You attain new swords, items, and weapons as you progress through the game, hearts (or heart points, or HP) as you kill bosses and they're generally stories of personal growth and a boy becoming a man so he can save the land by killing a giant demon pig-man. These games are RPGs and this is the one that I have the most fun with. It doesn't hold your hand as much, there's a lot of stuff to collect, there's a firm sense of Link getting stronger as you find stuff and progress, it's an overall good game and the best Legend of Zelda on the 3DS.

6. Saint's Row 2 - Saint's Row 2 is a game wherein you play the role of a character you create after an explosion kills the character who you played as in the first game. The level of customization is insane in this game! The plot isn't as "lets rip off GTA" as the last game was and indeed, this game felt like the better alternative to the then-new GTAIV. The plot can get pretty touching at points too. Character progression is most striking as you complete side missions which unlock bonuses but I'm still counting this as an RPG since there's a clear difference between a new character and a character whose 20+ hours into the narrative. I considered Crackdown but this game was fresher and prettier in my memory.

7. Batman: Arkham Asylum - The game starts with you playing as an under-equipped Batman. The game ends with you playing as a still under-equipped Batman but a notably stronger Batman. I chose this one instead of City or Origins because of the story here: it felt like I was playing the best Batman movie that was never made. The replay value isn't really there but it's still a very solid game with a great story.

8. Mass Effect - This is the game that spawned a really good action-RPG series but I chose this one because role playing and exploration seemed to be just as important as gunplay and action. I thought it was a better feeling game than Dragon Age: Origins and I liked the characters and character interactions a lot more.

9. Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans - It's a story that most people who buy the game are already familiar with...OR SO WE THOUGHT! I wasn't expecting to play through the last...what, 2 arcs of Dragon Ball? It was territory I wasn't very familiar with when it comes to Dragon Ball lore and I thought it was really refreshing. Another refreshing aspect of the game was the combat system which was a straight turn-based system (which is rare for DBZ-RPGs, seriously, look up how many DBZ-RPGs there are). What's interesting about this game though is how the combat system encourages you to experiment with powers: When 2 or more characters use a powerful attack or ki-blast there's a chance those attacks will converge and form a singular, much-more-powerful attack. It's a really interesting system and kept me really engaged in the actual game part of the game. I really wish Monolithsoft made a sequel to this game but no, instead we had to endure Xenoblade Chronicles and its somewhat better sequel.

10. Fallout: New Vegas - I chose this one over 3 because it felt more robust and the shooting wasn't completely numbers based. The Mojave felt more alive and diverse than the Capital Wasteland and I really liked the buddy-system here compared to the other. This is a game I've poured a bunch of time into anyway and I can always find something somewhat new and somewhat different to do each time...unlike Dark Brother of the Thieve's Guild simulator.

 

[balladbird]

Top RPGs, huh?
2) Shin Megami Tensei IV/Apocalypse

Good choice! IV was tragically underrated. not my favorite SMT game, but excellent. Apocalypse was enjoyable too, although events at the ending fork really pissed me off. >.<


Interesting thread idea! RPGs are most of what I play, so it'll be hard to pick just 10 of them... but here we go:

1.)SMT: Nocturne
2.)Growlanser IV
3.) Persona 4
4.) Tales of the Abyss (Yeah, I like it more than symphonia. sue me.)
5.)Mana Khemia 1 and 2
6.)Star Ocean II
7.) the entire Xenosaga (eps 1-3, and Xenogears. Xenoblade and its sequel were okay, but just didn't feel like Xeno games)
8.) Soul Nomad and the world eaters (NIS's one game that managed to balance the drama and comedy perfectly)
9.) the Valkyria games (weak stories, strong characters, addictive gameplay)
10.) trails in the sky/trails of cold steel games


Note that this list is more in celebration of games I've replayed/wanted to replay the most, and the games whose stories I thought about the most over the years, more than any statement of their quality.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Explodey.

Explodier.

Explodiest.

Am I doing it right?

 

[jademunky]

1) Planescape Torment - you can finish it a dozen times and find something new each playthrough, I have still not even finished every quest available to me
2) Fallout 2
3) Dark Souls
4) Xenogears -Seriously, this is not a game for everyone, but for those who have the patience for one of the longest, most story-heavy, most troperiffic games ever, totally worth all 70 hours.
5) Final Fantasy VI
6) Undertale - I only cried a little
7) Baldur's Gate II
8) Morrowind - easily the best of the series
9) System Shock 2 - Battletoads level of hard but still fun in a crazy way
10) Chrono Trigger

 

[Saelune]

1. Morrowind: Cause duh. Be happy I didnt just say Morrowind 10 times.
2. Terraria: My favorite "modern" game, and something I just keep playing and playing.
3. Neverwinter Nights: Closest to a true DnD video game experience, and the only game to ever have actual Role Playing online that is worth a damn.
4. Dragon Warrior Monsters: Its better than Pokemon, shame its not even a fraction as big.
5. Pokemon White: Best Pokemon game.
6. Dark Cloud 2: This game tries to do everything and succeeds at basically all of it.
7. Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: My family played this alot together, and I was late to school many times cause of this game. I wish a new Gauntlet game like this would be made.
8. KotoR 2: Cause fuck Taris.
9. Mass Effect: Cause the boring episodes of Star Trek are the best.
10. Bloodborne: This game basically perfected the Souls formula.

 

[Hawki]

Explodey.

Explodier.

Explodiest.

Am I doing it right?

I think the top one is a grenade launcher, and the bottom one is a stinger missile and/or SAM rather than RPGs. But you did get the level of explodiness correct.

 

[Hawki]

Chiming in on another issue, namely the Legend of Zelda games. I'll specify that while they're my jam (well, most of the ones I've played are at least), I don't consider them to be RPGs, but rather "action adventure." That's not a slight, mind you, and I realize that I started off with this thread about no "not REAL RPGs," but Zelda doesn't quite meet the cut for me due to the lack of any progression system. Link does get progressively stronger, true, but this is more linked to either specific events (e.g. bosses) or finding hearts. You can grind for rupees, but not XP, so to speak. A lot of whether you succeed or fail at Link is down purely to player skill rather than any level system. I understand that Zelda II is an exception to this, and Breath of the Wild does appear to be introducing RPG elements, but, yeah. Still, if I did class them as RPGs, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Ocarina of Time would almost certainly be on my list.

 

[Saelune]

Chiming in on another issue, namely the Legend of Zelda games. I'll specify that while they're my jam (well, most of the ones I've played are at least), I don't consider them to be RPGs, but rather "action adventure." That's not a slight, mind you, and I realize that I started off with this thread about no "not REAL RPGs," but Zelda doesn't quite meet the cut for me due to the lack of any progression system. Link does get progressively stronger, true, but this is more linked to either specific events (e.g. bosses) or finding hearts. You can grind for rupees, but not XP, so to speak. A lot of whether you succeed or fail at Link is down purely to player skill rather than any level system. I understand that Zelda II is an exception to this, and Breath of the Wild does appear to be introducing RPG elements, but, yeah. Still, if I did class them as RPGs, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Ocarina of Time would almost certainly be on my list.

I think its mainly due to RPGs being where fantasy likes to dwell, and Zelda is high-fantasy as all hell. Unintentional rhyming.

Its one of those "no right answer" things I think, cause I was uninclined to include a Zelda game, but I can see it either way really.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

1. Pokemon Black 2

While I could totally put nothing but pokemon on this list, I figured I'd just put my absolute favourite one on here instead - and Black 2 honestly wins that by a landslide. It's got a great story (a rare sequel, too) well-rounded characters, it explores the changes to the world over the last few years, has a mind-boggling amount of pokemon available and had the ability to boost the difficulty level, which makes Nuzlocke Runs so much more fun.

2. Final Fantasy XII

It's the one everyone loves to hate, but XII hit a lot of sweet spots for me - open world adventuring, solid voice acting (Gideon Emery's voice is like honey to me, god damn), free range for leveling/equipment, a fantastic story and a very distinct artistic style just all came together here to make this a good game for me. Shame the International Zodiac Job System version came and ruined parts of it I liked, but hey, whatever, I can't be mad at a game with Gideon Emery in it.

3. Fallout: New Vegas

It's a buggy, glitchy, poorly balanced mess of a game that is completely shattered if you get a Minigun or max out your speech stat, but damn, is the writing good enough that all of that can be easily overlooked. Plus, it's one of the few games I know of where ALL the DLC was used to tell a singular story (alongside their own individual stories), which was such an awesome thing - the final confrontation at the end of Lonesome Road was superb because of all that build up, and is easily one of my favourite story moments in any game ever. Shame it ended up making the Battle for the Dam look like garbage next to it.

4. Bloodborne

I've yet to finish Bloodborne (fucking Embrietas), but the indepth lore and tense gameplay just do a lot for me. I really like how whenever you pick up a new weapon or item you slowly unravel more and more of the world's history, it's a shame more games don't do something similar.

5. Baiten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and The Lost Ocean

Voice actings a bit odd and the game balance is atrocious (mid-game bosses are insanely difficult, the final boss can be slaughtered in two turns), but it's got such a solid storyline I can't stay mad at it. Plus the visuals are incredibly varied from location to location, and the battle system is both fascinating and surprisingly challenging to master in comparison to the usual JRPG fare.

6. Xenoblade Chronicles

Great story, fun characters, good voice acting, great graphics and a final boss that's just amazing to battle. It's a hell of a long game (100ish hours for my first playthrough, ignoring most side quests) but damn is it a good game to go through - sadly most of the sidequests suck ass, either being basic fetch quests, horribly underleveled or leading into a boss fight against a monster 80 levels higher than you. Main story more than makes up for it though, thank god.

7. Chrono Trigger

I'd be remiss not to put Chrono Trigger up here, since it - alongside Pokemon Red and Final Fantasy - was my first jump into the world of RPGs. While it's been bumped from the top spot over the years by bigger and better fare, it's still a definite favourite I like to revisit every now and then. Just... don't ask me about Chrono Cross.

8. Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door

There are no words*.

9. Spectrobes Origins

For Disney's attempt at a pokemon game, the Spectrobe games were surprisingly fun, albeit a bit sluggish with pacing. Origins managed to shake things up entirely, being a sort-of action-RPG variant of Pokemon, with you running around stabbing things while your Spectrobe ran along side you, also stabbing things. Was genuinely fun to play, the spectrobes all have unique and interesting designs, the story was good and shockingly enough, it utilized the Wii Remote incredibly well with lots of game mechanics.

10. Dragon Age II

Dragon Age II is a mess. But it's a fun mess for me. I genuinely liked Hawke and (some of) the companions, the Three Act story was pretty cool if oddly handled and the story was surprisingly dark and heartwrenching at moments - I can't really think of many big RPGs where the Big Protagonist Hero ends up losing in the end, which was a nice change of pace. The combat system was Fucking Broken, but it was damn good fun on the highest difficulty watching everyone else die horribly while Aveline hadn't even lost a single % of hp.

Plus, Gideon Emery is in it. Good god, I could listen to that man read the phonebook, what a voice.

[sub]*EDIT: Because I forgot to put words here before.[/sub]

 

[NPC009]

My list is mess with an extra dose of nostalgia.

1. Tales of the Abyss
2. Xenoblade Chronicles
3. Persona 4
4. Disgaea
5. Terranigma
6. Lunar Silver Star Story
7. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
8. Pok?mon Red/Blue
9. Ys Origin
10. Ogre Battle

I think it's more or less a list of RPGs that had the biggest impact on me? Some aren't even the best within their series, but I remember them very fondly. For instance, Strange Journey might not be the most amazing MegaTen game, but it was made using the Etrian Odyssey engine and it shows. I love the Etrian Odyssey series! Persona Q was an awesome mix in a similar way.

And Ys Origin, yeah, something like Seven would be a more normal pick, but I loved the dungeon design and the music was this amazing mix of familiar sounds and new track that absolutely rocked.

Also, now that I think about it, the Atelier series should probably be on the list in one form or another, as it is one of my favorite game series ever and I binge play the new installments every year. However, I can't think of a single game that's most deserving of a spot. Mana Khemia was awesome, Atelier Iris was my first, but I also like the more traditional installments... I can't decide. It's the same with Etrian Odysey and other dungeon crawlers: I like them a lot but I couldn't pick a single favourite.

 

[09philj]

Only counting games I've put significant time into:

Honourable mention - Fire Emblem: Awakening
Despite being one my favourite games ever, I don't think the RPG elements are strong enough to give it a place here.

Honourable mention - Undertale
See above.

Honourable mention - The Mass Effect series
See above.

10 - Fallout 2
I don't have the patience to wade through this slow, awfully balanced, and ugly game. The opening dungeon is a failure on every level.

9 - Fallout
Better than Fallout 2 in that it's actually possible to start the game with a build not based on strength. The time limit is too annoying for me to have fun with it, though.

8 - Final Fantasy VI
The story and characters are fairly appealing, but the combat is abysmal. It's needless complexity with no depth at all.

7 - Chrono Trigger
Better story than FFVI, and better combat than FFVI, but I still got sick of it around the point where you can fight the thing in the flying fortress.

6 - Pokemon Diamond
My first Pokemon adventure, and I will defend it to the death. Sinnoh is a great region and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

5 - Skyrim
I actually really like Skyrim. It may be clunky, but there's so much to see and do I could happily play it for hours on end. The only thing stopping me playing it right now are the appalling load times.

4 - Persona 4
Basically a masterwork of campy JRPG goodness. The only thing stopping me putting it higher is the, in my opinion, rather unfair difficulty of battles.

3 - Dragon Quest IX
The first proper JRPG I played. I love it. I love the story, the characters, the environments, the awful puns, and the wealth of abilities and equipment add up to a great, if a little simple, adventure.

1 - Bravely Default/Bravely Second
So similar there's no point separating them. The best turn based combat I've ever played. The best class system I've ever used. More quality boss fights than you can shake a stick at. The plots may be a little hackneyed, and most of Bravely Second is just copy pasted from Default, but the quality of the gameplay makes up for that in spades.

 

[Hawki]

I think its mainly due to RPGs being where fantasy likes to dwell, and Zelda is high-fantasy as all hell. Unintentional rhyming.

All things considered, I think the Legend of Zelda is a pretty conservative setting as far as high fantasy goes. At least, using examples from this thread, when compared to franchises like Xenoblade, Final Fantasy, Dragon Ball, and Mario.

Speaking of which:

8. Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door

Think you missed the text for that entry. Though on a more positive note:

6. Xenoblade Chronicles

Great story, fun characters, good voice acting, great graphics and a final boss that's just amazing to battle. It's a hell of a long game (100ish hours for my first playthrough, ignoring most side quests) but damn is it a good game to go through - sadly most of the sidequests suck ass, either being basic fetch quests, horribly underleveled or leading into a boss fight against a monster 80 levels higher than you. Main story more than makes up for it though, thank god.

Hah, caught you! No-one who played Xenoblade would be thanking gods for anything. ;P

But, yeah, this pretty much sums up my thoughts on the game, right down to the playtime. I'm a bit more reciprocal to the sidequests though - a lot of them are "fetch/kill x number of y," but there are a few standouts, such as the Emmy Leater plot thread or when you have to kill Tyrea's mother.

 

[aozgolo]

I can name probably my top ten RPGs, but I won't name them in order, I will put numbers in front for ease of reference:

1: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind I've played pretty much every TES game to some extent and enjoy them, I've logged 700+ hours into Skyrim on Steam, probably an equal amount in Oblivion, and Morrowind, but Morrowind had the added benefit of being the most nostalgic since it introduced me to the series at a time when I was craving freedom in a game (now known as sandbox). Morrowind also has the best storyline of the series, which is saying a lot considering it took me over 100 hours of playing the game before I finally decided to do the main quest at all (it does have it's slow moments). Overall though, Morrowind taught me what games could be and I loved it. I still remember the sheer unadulterated joy at such a small accomplishment of realizing that even mountains were no longer impassable objects and I could just leap and jump my way over them.

2: Baldur's Gate II I'm gonna stick with one entry per franchise here. Baldur's Gate II took an already fantastic game such as Baldur's Gate and made it better in every possible way, story, exploration, characters, combat, skills, UI, it was all improved in this and I still love playing it to this day (albeit the Enhanced Edition)

3: Final Fantasy XII I love open world games, and I love story driven games, and I love games that make grinding fun and interesting, and I love games that give you tons of ways to distract yourself if you decide to take a break from the main plot. FF12 is the ultimate realization of that in a Final Fantasy game. Each region is huge with multiple areas, interesting enemies, and varied landscapes. The look and feel of the game is wholly unique and I've never seen another game go so wild with it's visual aesthetics (just look at Rabanastre's architecture). The real gem of the game for me though is the great combat system that has a well thought out AI auto-pilot, but also incredibly complex and challenging bosses that you have to take control over to really bring down. I'm really crossing my fingers the remaster hits PC like the other remasters did!

4: Dragon Quest 8 Why do I still keep my PS2 plugged in? FF12 and DQ8! While I love some all the games in the Dragon Quest series with varying degrees, 8 is the top dog because it does everything really excellent! Awesome characters, fantastic graphics, and amazing variety of things to do!

5: Legend of Mana Once again, I'm won over by non-linearity and fluff. This is a running theme. I love this game because it just has so much freakin' stuff to do in it! Capture monster eggs and hatch them into companions, build weapons, build armor, build magical instruments that cast spells, build golems to fight with you, raise a garden, train your apprentices, go on 3 main quest arcs or numerous smaller side arcs, layout your own world map, discover new combat combos, fight tons of awesome huge bosses, meet tons of interesting characters, flesh out a plethora of encyclopedias, train with a huge variety of weapons... slap a big gorgeous watercolor paintjob on it, and there you have it!

6: Earthbound While this game does have some freedom and openness to it in some ways, what attracts me to it most of all is it's a wholly unique setting never done in quite that same way before or since. The tongue-in-cheek modern Americana setting is fabulous and it bleeds into every aspect of the game. The fact that game is so heartwarming just adds to it.

7: The Witcher 3 I had to take a 6 month hiatus from the game after the expansions were finally released just because I don't want this game to end, it's like putting away the last slice of cheesecake on a bad case of the munchies knowing you want to savor and enjoy it's flavor at a later date. Everything about this game is crisp goodness!

8: Mount & Blade Warband A RTS/Simulation/RPG that doesn't skimp on any one of it's mixed genres and instead provides an awesome robust game where you can roleplay however you want aspiring to greatness and becoming king, or being content as a humble merchant, or being a female bandit with your all female crew of warriors who raids up and down the coasts.

9: Suikoden II I remember when video games first made the jump to CDs, me and my dad were talking about how awesome it would be to see a game with the same kind of 2D graphics as what the SNES had, but used all that extra space on the disc purely for content, instead of pre-rendered backgrounds and 3D Models. While Suikoden II's graphics blow away anything on the SNES, it is without a doubt one of the most awesome RPGs of the PS1 (which is saying a lot from someone who loves PS1 RPGs) I loved it's very politically charged and dramatic storytelling mixed with it's colorful world filled with cool things to find and collect (including people)

10: Super Mario RPG I get it, it's designed specifically around the capabilities of the SNES with it's isometric view, and around the action-based Mario games with it's platforming level design but why... oh WHY has there never been another game to copy what this one did? The way you moved on the game's maps was genius, a fun exciting fixed isometric platforming game, and then you combine it with turn based battles? Oh sweet jeebus! I love this game and still play it regularly today!


Honorable Mentions (Seriously I'm only gonna mention 'em)

Fallout 4
Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen
Dungeons of Dredmor
Chrono Trigger
Shadow Madness
Dark Cloud
Dragon Age Inquisition
Ultima IV: Quest for the Avatar
Stardew Valley
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
Secret of Evermore

 

[Bob_McMillan]

1. Skyrim
2. Mass Effect 2
3. KotOR
4. Fallout New Vegas
5. That game that has the acronym LOK that was made by Kurt Schilling

Aaand that's pretty much all the RPGs I've bothered to play

 

[stroopwafel]

A mix of nostalgia and newer games:

1. Bloodborne
2. Final Fantasy 7
3. Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Xenogears
5. The Witcher 3
6. Dark Souls 3
7. Digital Devil Saga
8. Fallout 4
9. Final Fantasy 15
10. Demon's Souls
10. Mass Effect 2

Kind of a mix of nostalgia and games I still enjoy today. Though I guess what constitutes an 'RPG' has really shifted over the years considering even shooters have upgrade trees and skill points. I have never been the biggest fan of 'western' RPGs and pretty much grew up on snes and PS1 JRPGs(ie Squaresoft's golden age). Now my tastes have mostly shifted to action RPG's and western RPG's that are 'casual' in the RPG department but still offer a ton of fun through either exploration, story or gameplay(ie Witcher 3 and Fallout 4).

If I had to make a list based purely on nostalgia it would probably look like this:

1. Final Fantasy 7
2. Zelda: A Link to the Past
3. Xenogears
4. Actraiser
5. Chrono Trigger
6. Suikoden 2
7. Secret of Mana
8. Final Fantasy 6
9. Saga Frontier 2
10. Secret of Evermore
10. Illusion of Gaia

 

[aozgolo]

5. That game that has the acronym LOK that was made by Kurt Schilling

Don't you mean the acronym KoA:R "made" by Curt Schilling?