Resetera's Top 101 Essential RPGs - Final Update. Top 101 up plus many extras.

Firemind · Jul 9, 2018

Guess I'll do a write-up sooner rather than later before Octopath Traveler consumes all of my free time haha. I still have my old images. Gonna shuffle them around a bit this time and write new text for them. I'm by no means an expert but I'll try to explain why they're essential RPGs.

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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Easy Allies has made a great case why this should be considered an essential RPG and so I'll start the list with this timeless gem. It's still a treat to play after nearly 14 years; never mind playing it for the first time. First and foremost, while the battles are turn-based, there are timing mechanics that allow you to deal more damage or receive less damage (or 0 damage when you time it just right). This isn't new if you're familiar with the Mario RPG series, but what sets The Thousand-Year Door apart from the original Paper Mario on the N64 and the Mario & Luigi series is the audience. The audience comes to see your battle performance like it's a literal play (a cute reference to Super Mario Bros. 3). The audience will start out small and grow the more impressive you become at timing your attacks and dodges. It's not just for show. The more people are in the audience (the game shows a number), the easier you can charge your special meter, Star Power or SP for short, which allows you to unleash a devastating attack. You can earn more of these special attacks the further you progress through the story. The developers, Intelligent Systems, didn't just leave it at that. You can earn more SP by doing Stylish Moves. After an attack, you can press A at the right time to wave at the audience or do an extra backflip, boosting your SP as a result. The crowd will cheer, sometimes even giving you items like health. There are also bad apples among them who try to sabotage your efforts or stage hazards like backgrounds falling down on you. It keeps battles fresh, especially bosses who may react to the audience differently. This has been the only Mario RPG that uses the audience as a mechanic! I haven't even mentioned the superb writing, oftentimes parodying the various characters and enemies in the Marioverse (deepest lore). While it's not going to be a looker on your HDTV, being a GameCube game, it's not going to diminish your experience overall because of its 2D looking aesthetics.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

A Metroidvania with RPG elements; the best of both worlds. Since you can equip weapons, armor and skills that increase your stats, I consider this a 2D platformer/RPG (unlike Super Metroid), which honestly is a real shame not many series exist that have copied this formula. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the game it heavily borrowed from, show you how fun it can be exploring a huge castle with many challenging bosses and very little cutscenes to slow you down. There is a structure to it, since most of the areas are locked until you find the appropriate skill, but it still offers enough freedom and variety for you to explore. Koji Igarashi was involved in both games and what he and the staff did brilliantly is giving you a choice to affect the outcome of events and eventually the ending. Symphony of the Night did this better than Aria of Sorrow, but Aria of Sorrow is a bit better balanced and paced in my opinion. The inverted castle in Symphony of the Night, while a great idea, is a bit much. Alucard is at some point so overpowered, enemies feel more like a chore than a challenge. Not to say Aria of Sorrow doesn't have any issues; it does, but they feel more muted whereas Symphonia of the Night has a lot of highs. Michiru Yamane's soundtrack for example is a bliss to listen to. Ayami Kojima worked on the artwork and character design of both games which are terrific. Just play both of them and enjoy the ride.

Diablo II: Lord of Destruction

Still the king of procedurally generated dungeon crawl. An evolution of roguelikes and one that hasn't been improved upon for nearly two decades. What more needs to be said? If you haven't been there in the early '00s, you have unfortunately missed out. It's still a very good singleplayer game though, or co-op game if you can find friends to play with. No playthrough is the same and that is the strength of the game. There's still the foreboding plot, haunting music, challenging dungeons and nonlinear progression that tides you over. If there's one thing that holds it back is that you'll need to play through the game three times, preferably on Hardcore (permadeath mode), to experience the true horror (and satisfaction) of roguelikes. I think most of us will hit a brick wall on Nightmare difficulty and die, but if you're able to reach Hell difficulty, it's a relentless rollercoaster of running for your dear life and spamming potions whenever you see a champion pack of death. For that reason, Diablo II's experience is unmatched and an essential RPG to me.

Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light

This game feels like a blast from the past except it's coated with modern sensibilities. It really is a contemporary take on classic Final Fantasy. Where most of the JRPGs from the early to mid 90s have aged poorly in my opinion, The Four Heroes of Light revels in JRPG traditions and gives them a modern twist, even making fun of them at times. The four main characters don't take themselves too seriously and only end up together due to circumstances. The writing is clever and don't have the localization and text space issues of its older brothers. Tomoya Asano, the producer of The Four Heroes of Light, went on to produce the Bravely Default games, but while that series has been criticized for being tedious and obtuse in the later half of the story; The Four Heroes of Light is briskly paced with no excessive bloat. That's how I like my RPGs. It's like a book. If it doesn't tantalize your readers and goes somewhere, then don't write it. I have high hopes for Octopath Traveler, Asano's next game. Let's hope it's as much of a love letter to classic JRPGs as The Four Heroes of Light.

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

The best turn-based Strategy RPG I've ever played. I'll just leave it at that since it's almost impossible to obtain it legally nowadays with GBA bootlegs still running rampant. Remember this name when Nintendo announces a remake.

Pokémon Red/Blue

"Take off your rose-tinted glasses!" you're probably thinking and you'd be right considering most of the mechanics are severely outdated, but hear me out. It's not just love for the original 151. Have you seen those horrible (back) sprites? Yellow is much better in that regard, but is more unbalanced (or more balanced depending on your view.) While Yellow is a bit too generous handing out the three starters relatively early, Red/Blue strikes a nice balance between the various types available, offering Eevee midgame as a way to round out your team. The Pokémon availability is generally genius whether it was intended or not. An example would be choosing Charmander over the much easier path of Bulbasaur or Squirtle. While you will struggle against Brock and Misty with Charmander, fire types are relatively rare in the game so it's a bit of a high risk/high reward situation (Flareon has awful special attack and doesn't learn a decent fire attack until lvl. 54.) You can however catch Growlithe in Red or Vulpix in Blue when you go to Celadon City, offering an alternative for the Bulbasaur/Squirtle trainers. Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire for example only offers Slugma and Numel early to midgame before going to Lavaridge Town (the 4th gym), both worse than Growlithe/Vulpix. Psychic is overpowered, but Abra is fortunately balanced around its teleport run mechanic and the Game Corner offers a low level Abra (Yellow offers a lvl. 15 Abra). While Alakazam is locked behind its evolution method and Mewtwo is locked until post game. Red/Blue also offers quite a bit of freedom after you enter Celadon City. There is usually more than one path to go and tackle the remaining gyms. You can for example skip Saffron until later since Sabrina can be pretty challenging if underleveled and unprepared. Or you can go to Cinnabar gym after Koga so you can finally have Flareon learn a good fire attack. Sure, you can use the primitive box system or HMs being locked in after you teach them as reasons to hold it against it being an essential RPG, but it doesn't change the fundamentals of its solid game design. It's both short and sweet, offering a variety of party members depending on the paths you take. That to me is more important than superficial updates to existing mechanics and adding more bloat that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I wonder if Let's Go can replicate the pace considering the new mechanics it wants to introduce.

Golden Sun & Golden Sun: The Lost Age

(Since they're tied together, I'll consider the two games as one package. Missing out on one would hamper your experience overall.)

If classic turn-based JRPGs and The Legend of Zelda had a baby, Golden Sun would be that baby. It's such a wonderful marriage of game design, one wonders why Nintendo didn't greenlit more games than just Dark Dawn (I know why. Shut up.) Great dungeon design, great class and summon system, great worldbuilding, great soundtrack, great optional content. Camelot went all out with the limited GBA hardware and is precisely why it's considered a cult classic among fans (Shut up. It's a cult classic to me since whenever Golden Sun comes up, everyone moans about its insipid writing. Golden Sun is more than just its writing. It's a sum of its parts.) Shame it had to be split between two seperate games though. Curse that password system!

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

The father of DOTA with a great singleplayer campaign and excellent building mechanics from the long and forgotten genre of real-time strategy. Nothing more needs to be said.

Xenoblade Chronicles

The mother of all modern JRPGs. A game I hold so high that I compare every newly released JRPG to it; not even Monolith Soft themselves have bettered it with subsequent releases. The world is so rich, the characters so lovable, the music so moving, and on the little Wii that could, that it's a miracle it all came out the way it did. I'm not sure who I should exactly credit, but if you compare this game to modern Final Fantasies, given the development time, I truly wonder whether it's a fluke by Monolith Soft. The other two games in the series has had a short development period as well, but unlike the first game, they feel rushed and have poor pacing as a result. None of that here. After the first few hours, it's sublime from beginning to end. The snappy writing obviously helps a lot, which is credited to three writers: Tetsuya Takahashi, Yuichiro Takeda and Yurie Hattori. The voice acting is also outstanding; probably the best a Nintendo published game has ever offered. I played around a 100 hours and it felt gripping all the way. Maybe it was during a time when I appreciated games more than today; I played the 3DS version and the lower resolution and sound quality definitely hampered the experience. It hasn't aged magnificently being a non-HD game, but I still consider it to be a must-play for any RPG fan. If you don't like the battle system, you'll know within the first couple of hours. For those that do, enjoy the adventure. It's brilliant.

--VOTE INFO START--

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Golden Sun
Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Pokémon Red/Blue
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
Xenoblade Chronicles
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Octopath Traveler
Skies of Arcadia
Tales of Symphonia
The Last Story
The World Ends With You
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Thuddert · Jul 9, 2018

R_thanatos said:
I have question , what about games cut in 2 , for exemple , trails in the Sky Fc/SC
or utwarerumono mask of deception/truth ? Those games are basicly cut into 2, so can i choose 1 ? or put the 2 into 1 vote ?
In both of those cases , the sequel is superior , but it's just not recommanded to start with the sequel , you need to play the previous game first .

Can i just put both games into 1 vote , right ? It won't be a problem ?

Vote for the first game as people should play that anyway before they tackle the sequel.

MoonFrog · Jul 9, 2018

Firemind said:
.

Remember to have the vote start and vote end lines in your vote stub!

...

TTYD and FEBB are definitely games I wish were still in my honorable mentions; deciding those was difficult in particular and frankly I just went with what I had when the thread started. I think last time your ballot and my HM were the only mentions of FEBB; wonder how it will do this time.

Nice write-ups. I should put Golden Sun and Four Heroes of Light on my radar...

Firemind · Jul 9, 2018

MoonFrog said:
Remember to have the vote start and vote end lines in your vote stub!

Ah, thanks! I enjoyed writing it and explaining why they should be essential in the year 2018, even though some of my choices are probably contentious! I never owned an SNES or Genesis (my friends and family had them which I borrowed and played from time to time.) It wasn't until the GBA and DS where I started to play a lot of the classic JRPGs like the Breath of Fire, Tales of and Final Fantasy series and while I enjoyed them, they haven't really aged well in my opinion. Like I mentioned in my The Four Heroes of Light blurb, the limitation of text boxes and minimal localization efforts played a part in that. They're still enjoyable in this day of age, but I wouldn't consider them essential necessarily (which is weird when I have Pokémon R/B in my list, but fortunately that doesn't require a fully-fledged story!) I haven't played any main Dragon Quest yet, so I'm looking forward what the community considers the most essential Dragon Quest game!

Thanks kswiston for taking the time to compile these again! Love the design layout of the entries!

R_thanatos · Jul 9, 2018

kswiston said:
The Trails games should definitely be counted separately. I am not sure about that second pair, as I have never played them. Generally direct sequels (like the Xenosaga games or Trails) should be separate entries. If we had something more similar to the various Telltale games series (where one game is split into a bunch of parts), than those would count as a single entry.

it's the same kind of cliffanger , ( also golden sun does the very same thing )
Very well , i'll list the first game and mention that i'm counting both in the writing.

Shadow_FFVI · Jul 9, 2018

Final Fantasy VII.
This game has yet to be replaced as my favorite game of all time. It's a memorable story with an incredible cast of characters.

It's a game that keeps surprising thruoghout, with either it's story beats or with incredible character moments that perfectly reveal or strenghten characters motivations to go on this adventure.

The soundtrack is nothing short of a masterpiece, and one of Nobuo Uematsu's greatest accomplishments as a composer.

It's the game that means the most to me, and made me realise just how much video games are worthy of my time and admiration.

Final Fantasy VI
Right on the heels of Final Fantasy VII, this game is the pinaccle of 16 bit JRPG's, and one that will pull you in with both a stirring plot and memorable characters from top to bottom.

Final Fantasy IX
Hironobu Sakaguchi's favorite installment in the franchise. A beautiful tribute to the roots of the franchise.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Top of the class in it's genre. Visually captivating, adicting gameplay and a story that adds a sense of urgency to every single encounter.

Chrono Trigger
Not much to be said that hasn't already been said a thousand times. It's a marvelous game, with a pace that doesn't let up from beginning to end.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Final Fantasy VII
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy Tactics
Chrono Trigger
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Fanto · Jul 9, 2018

Look ok, there are a lot of great RPGs out there, I probably play more RPGs than anything else, but if I'm being completely honest with myself, Final Fantasy 7 is still my favorite of all time and I have to give my highlight vote to it. I still believe it's the best FF game that Square has made and that it will likely never be topped. The story, the characters, the music, materia, gold saucer, the entire thing is just unforgettable. I had played RPGs before playing FF7, and I've played many since, but very few have stuck with me as much as FF7 has throughout the last 20+ years. I cannot recommend it enough. People always ask what Final Fantasy game they should start with because there's 15 of them, but the answer from me will always be Final Fantasy 7. Just play that one, if you want to see what the others are like after that, then I encourage that too because I do love a lot of them. People say the game is overrated and that it's not all it's cracked up to be, but I say a game with as many fans as FF7 is likely doing something right if so many people hold it in such high regard like myself to the point that they say it is their favorite game of all time. So, if you have ever been interested in seeing what all the fuss is about concerning Final Fantasy 7 then I highly encourage you to just play it and experience this amazing game for yourself.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is the greatest game that Bethesda Game Studios has ever made and I am positive that they will never make a game better than it. There are honestly too many things to say about Morrowind, and they have all already been said better than I ever could. The modding community keeps the game alive to this day and looking relatively modern. There is really no reason I can think of to not play Morrowind if you've ever enjoyed any of BGS's games that have come since then. I highly implore all Oblivion and Skyrim fans, and even Fallout 3, NV, and 4 fans, to give Morrowind a shot sometime to see where the series came from and how much it has evolved since 2002.

The Burning Crusade was the first and, in my opinion, the best expansion that World of Warcraft ever had. This expansion is what brought us flying mounts, blood elves, jewelcrafting, arena PvP, as well as a plethora of improvements over the vanilla version of the game. I spent thousands of hours playing TBC, doing 10 and 25-man raids, 2v2 and 3v3 arena, grinding dailies, earning rep, buying expensive mounts, I did it all. I took a break following TBC, came back shortly before Cataclysm and went mildly hard on that expansion, but I've really only been playing WoW casually since TBC. I know this isn't really a game that I can recommend to people to play since it is, outside of private servers, unavailable to be experienced at this time. However, with Blizzard announcing the new classic server for WoW which will be based on the vanilla version, it gives me hope that someday they could release a classic TBC server as well for those of us who still believe it to be the best version of the venerable game.

Phantasy Star IV was the first RPG I ever played, and I still think it is one of the greatest of all time. It is easily the best RPG one can find on the Sega Genesis, and as someone who grew up with a Genesis, it was one of my most cherished games that I owned. I am still in love with the comic book panel style cutscenes which I think worked amazingly well for a 16 bit game as it allowed for a really high amount of detail in the art for the important story related scenes. The music is also amazing, easily towards the top of my list of favorite game soundtracks, especially from the 16 bit era. The gameplay I still think is genius as well, it is very fast-paced for a turn-based game, and then there's macro system which allows you to set up attack orders for your party, or even combo attacks, to be used in battles to make things even faster and more efficient. Simply put, Phantasy Star IV is the best RPG the Sega Genesis has to offer and holds up amazingly well to this day in almost every way.

The greatest SRPG of all time in my opinion, Shining Force 2 is another amazing Sega Genesis RPG. Combining traditional strategic turn-based battles that one might be familiar with from games like Fire Emblem with the traditional overworld map and town exploration seen in Final Fantasy games, Shining Force 2 is an epic adventure of a game. Dozens of playable characters make it a joy to replay as well since there are hundreds of different team compositions one could put together. I've always been a fan of these kinds of turn-based strategy RPGs, but unfortunately there are so few of them that combine those battles with the traditional kind of gameplay one would expect from the console RPGs of that era, or any era really. That's why I think Shining Force 2 is a must-play RPG because although it does fall under the SRPG sub-genre there is a lot more to it than just the battles and the cutscenes and I think people would really appreciate it still for what it does if they gave it a shot today.

As for the rest of my ballot, I would like to give my votes to the following games (in no particular order outside the top 5):

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Final Fantasy 7
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Phantasy Star 4
Shining Force 2
Dark Souls
The Witcher 3
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Mass Effect
Fallout: New Vegas
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Persona 4
Diablo
Valkyria Chronicles
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 9
Fallout 3
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon's Dogma
Mass Effect 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Karlinel · Jul 9, 2018

HIGHLIGHT:

- Baldur's Gate 2: To me, probably the best RPG ever created. While many feel that the writing isn't as tight as Planescape's, the sheer freedom creating your character, the amazing sense of exploration, and the many, many completely missable yet great quests make this one the crème de la créme to me.

--VOTE INFO START—
<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Final Fantasy 7
The Witcher 3
Phantasy star 4
Diablo 2
Persona 4
Knights of the Old Republic 2: the Sith Lords
Mass Effect 2
BloodBorne
Divinity: Original Sin
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Fallout 3
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Neverwinter Nights
Jade Empire
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

McScroggz · Jul 9, 2018

I'll try to finish this soon, so this is a placeholder.

1. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Growing up, the types of games I played were Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Super Metroid - the typical stuff. Games were a fun hobby, but just that. When I played Baldur's Gate, and especially Baldur's Gate II, my entire perception of what video games could be changed. BGII told a rich, dark and fascinating story filled with diverse characters. Choice was at the forefront of the game - where to go, who to talk to, what to do, how to approach combat; but at the core of everything was wonderful storytelling and a compelling, just perfectly over the top villain to bring the entire experience together. And from arranging your party in a specific formation to selecting which spells to bring to a dungeon and pausing the game to assess and manage the combat situation, all of it coalesced into a great gameplay experience that makes this game the quintessential cRPG. No longer were games relegated to being a fun distraction, now they could be as engrossing and fulfilling as a good book or movie.

2. Final Fantasy VI

The best of the classical Final Fantasy games, it set the standard for what each entry in the series strives to be. It has a really well-realized cast, and by not having a main character it allows the story to seamlessly transition between story arcs and weaves a powerful tale with some of the most memorable moments in the genre. It's influences can be felt as recently as Final Fantasy XV and Octopath Traveler. The presentation pushed the Super Nintendo to its limits with its breathtaking opening scene and the soundtrack is impeccable. It's probably the Final Fantasy game with the fewest amount of flaws, relative to its time, and even now holds up incredibly well. Kefka is such a great classic era JRPG villain, the best in the series quite possibly. What I think sets this game apart from all but one classic JRPG is the World of Ruin. The bad guy wins, and the entire world changes to reflect that. The last 1/3 of the game was really shocking, including a character attempting suicide. It was bleak, dire, characters felt defeated - the player felt defeated. We've since seen other games attempt something similar, including Final Fantasy IX and XV.

3. Final Fantasy VII

Like many, this was my first Final Fantasy game. It was my first JRPG. It has a great cast, an interesting story that has some really surprising twists, and it has a lot more maturity than one would expect. The materia system is a great way to add flexibility and more long term goals that would be emulated in subsequent Final Fantasy games. This game has had such an interesting evolution of the dialogue surrounding it - it goes from the best JRPG ever, to a mediocre JRPG, to the most underrated JRPG, to the most overrated RPG. Ultimately, as somebody who loves the genre I feel it's among the best ever released. Does it have the best cast? No, that's one of the Persona games, in my opinion - but it has a great cast. Does it have the best combat system? No, that's probably Grandia II/III or one of the more unique JRPG combat systems (but it's combat is just as good as basically any of the traditional, turn-based JRPG's). Does it have the best OST? No, that's probably something like Chrono Cross (but it has a very good OST). Does it have the best writing, or the most ambitious? No, that's...who knows. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy IX, Persona 3-5, Vangrant Story, Xenogears, I don't know (but it has a good story and some genuinely good twists that are famous). It's not the best at any one thing, but almost no JRPG is as good overall in practically every area as Final Fantasy VII.

4. Chrono Trigger

If I had to name the best JRPG, it would be Chrono Trigger. The Square dream team came together to make a masterpiece of a game that because of its ambitions can't even be considered quintessential. The time mechanic is such a genius way to tell a story in a unique way, and it released on a 16-bit console. Incredible. It has a fun, very diverse cast of characters. It has a fantastic OST. It has a memorable villain. It looked great. Very good combat. It has so few flaws and excels in most aspects while being an innovative game. Truly special. Honestly, if I had played this before Final Fantasy VII/VI it might very well be my favorite JRPG of all time. As such, it's 1c.

5. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

Baldur's Gate II is my favorite game because it was the first in which the writing really grabbed me and made me game the game's narrative serious. Since then, I've always appreciated and desired quality storytelling in my video games, and The Witcher III easily has some of the best, mature, layered and captivating writing in a video game I've played. Geralt is a complex but fully realized character in a world where everybody you interact with has depth to them. One person my seem indefensibly awful only to uncover a rich, nuanced backstory that makes you reconsider how you feel about them.

I think the writing is especially important in the side quests because it reinforces the world brilliantly. As a Witcher your job is to help people, not from a sense of charity but as a way to earn a living; so whenever you are presented with a job there's often ramifications, sometimes you're helping the bad guy or doing something you wouldn't have done had you know everything up front. Sometimes helping out a person turns out poorly. It's a quintessential game world that fits in perfectly in a society whose entertainment is dominated by murky morality works of fiction like Game of Thrones.

The gameplay is pretty good too. I appreciate the preparation element of the game systems, and the magic system has just enough depth to be fun to play with. Really though, the story and the characters are the star of the show and I think The Witcher III is the best overall example our medium has put forth.

6. Persona 4 Golden

It takes a certain type of person to fully appreciate a Persona game. The game has essentially two modes. There's the dungeon crawling, traditional turn based RPG system. It's simple, with the main strategy being casting various elemental magic spells until you uncover the weakness of each enemy. While I enjoy the combat, it's better at allowing me to relax and zone out as opposed to being super intense or deeply strategic. The soundtrack is topnotch as well.

But it's the other aspect, the daily life stuff, that makes the Persona games so unique. Going to school, participating in extracurricular activities, going on dates and so on that really absorbs you into the world. The characters are diverse, more complex than you might think, and actually subverts normal anime tropes. And because you do mundane things that result in increasing your bonds with your friends, it creates a beautiful synergy.

Naoto is the best girl.

7. Persona 5

Persona 5 is among the most stylish game's I've ever played. The K-Pop/Jazz soundtrack, the flashy menu's, the way the camera focuses on the character who got the final blow and follows them in a seamless victory animation, end battle screen and back into the gameplay. In a lot of ways Persona 5 is a prettier, more polished version of Persona 4, but there are a lot of little additions that make it the best overall Persona game to date. Being able to take cover and ambush the enemy. Being able to get a massage and do something even after you've gone into a dungeon that day. There are a lot of design choices that make Persona 5 more accessible than prior Persona games without sacrificing the unique and strict daily life segments of the game. And it's worth noting that the synergy between daily activities and choices has never synergized better in any game, even previous Persona games, than in this one. It seems like no matter what you are doing, even if it's spending time working at a flower shop, that your character is getting better in some way.

Also, the interwoven narrative I think was a really neat idea, and while I can't say I was truly surprised at the direction the game took, I thoroughly enjoyed the creative decisions the game made. Honestly, I think Persona 5 is better than any previous Persona game other than the cast. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy the cast, but I don't think it's as strong nor do I think they do as good of a job at subverting anime cliches but rather tried to get the tropey character more depth. It works, but when you're predecessor arguably has the best cast of JRPG characters of all time being really good is a bit of a letdown.

Makoto is the best girl.

8. Planescape Torment

Imagine taking the best isometric Western RPG's of the late 90's/early 2000's like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and the like and stripping down the combat but replacing it with then unrivaled writing, character choice, and an overall emphasis in solving problems through cleverness. In a way, it's like melding Baldur's Gate and a point and click adventure game. Not only that, but the world and the main character are so unique compared to the different flavors of fantasy you normally get in the genre.

I think one of the things that really sets this game apart is the world and the characters that inhabit it. The world isn't good or bad, it's just a melange of apathy and acceptance and like some games that would follow completing quests will often result in things you never expected or intended. When I play something like Bloodborne or The Witcher III, I can't help but think of Planescape Torment.

9. Bloodborne

What a masterpiece of Action game design. The combat is adrenaline inducing, brutal, mostly fair and the rally system perfectly balances the more aggressive Souls gameplay with the inability to block and catch your breath. In the Dark Souls games, often if you were overwhelmed you could back off and readjust or pull out a shield and block a few attacks to get your bearing. In Bloodborne, if you see an enemy you attack. If you get hit, you attack. In case of emergency, you attack. The game forces you to play it with a certain mentality, but if you accept that it's one of the most rewarding games I've played.

And even outside of the combat, the game is just awesome. The level design rivals some of the best Fromsoftware has ever done. The enemy design is disgusting, horrifying aberrations that stands next to the Lovecraftian, Shinji Mikami creatures the industry has seen. The atmosphere is thick and depressing. The Gothic architecture fits perfectly. The soundtrack does a great job of creeping you out or pumping you up. And the trick weapons was a genius idea, taking away the dozens of useless items and distilling it down to a manageable selection of unique weapons with more combos, two modes, and overall a deeper experience. Even something like changing weapons in between attacks has a unique attack, and can be a great way to handle certain situations.

Bloodborne is the most consistently great Souls game Fromsoftware has ever made, and it has some of the best bosses/moments in the series as well.

10. Divinity: Original Sin 2

Put simply, this game takes a lot of the best ideas with how to handle combat the isometric, Western RPG's have had and adds an additional layer of elemental/environmental combinations that works so well it's surprising it hadn't already been a staple in the genre. And then it takes the quest design structure of Planescape Torment, that allows you to solve many quests through dialogue, clever actions, or the good ole combat scenario. Mechanically, I think Divinity: Original Sin is the best Western RPG I've ever played. Whereas something like Baldur's Gate II - still my favorite game - had good combat, most games similar to Divinity have just that - good to acceptable gameplay. Often the story and characters are what elevate these games. But Divinity has such a fantastic and deep and experimental combat system that it's genuinely fun to engage with.

If Divinity: Original Sin 2 had writing on par with something like The Witcher III, it would probably overtake Baldur's Gate II as my favorite game - and as I have previously stated that game changed me as a gaming enthusiast. The writing isn't bad, as there are interesting characters and some of the quests are really well done. However, I feel like the main reason to play Divinity: Original Sin 2 is the combat and quest design, something that's odd to say about a genre known for the opposite. Nonetheless, it's an exceptional game that I hope influenced other games more.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII
Chrono Trigger
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
Persona 4 Golden
Persona 5
Planescape Torment
Bloodborne
Divinity: Original Sin 2
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Transistor
Dark Souls
Kingdom Hearts
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
Mass Effect 2
Undertale
Earthbound
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy XII
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

GSG · Jul 9, 2018

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Mass Effect
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy VII
Chrono Trigger
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Chrono Cross
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Final Fantasy XII
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Dragon Age Origins
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy VI
Golden Sun
Mario Tennis GBA
Pokemon Gold/Silver
Tales of Symphonia
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Diablo 2
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

My highlight vote is Mass Effect. This game is honestly the closest thing to perfection for me, it's like a complete nerdgasm. I love everything about it, including the music, the lore, the atmosphere, the gameplay(yes, even the dreaded Mako sections). I was extremely disappointed when Bioware took the series in a more casual focused direction with ME2 and onward because the complexities of the first game are what gives it the character that I love about it. You know you're in for something special right from the start when you begin to control Shephard in the Normandy with the atmospheric ambient space-y music playing in the background.

Deleted member 33533 · Jul 9, 2018

My highlight is Xenoblade Chronicles X. This game has some of the most enjoyable exploration and world building you can find in an RPG and the battle system is a blast with many customizable aspects and ways to max out your builds. You play as a custom character who is awakened from an escape pod when a colony of space explorers from America crash land on an uncharted alien planet after the Earth was destroyed in an intergalactic war. You join a military organization built out of the remains of the space ship and its survivors called BLADE and work to help humanity survive and make a home on this new planet.

Planet Mira is a massive and exotic open world that you can explore seamlessly with no loading screens. The landscapes are varied with beautiful vistas and strange alien landscapes, fauna and flora. It's up to you to explore the planet, collect biological, archeological and mechanical specimen, set up probes to survey the planet and mine minerals. Exploring is so rewarding and addictive - the level design is wonderfully done, every angle you turn the camera shows several points of interest to explore nearby and on the horizon. And the world is not just wide but very vertical.

The planet is also extremely dangerous and the game does a great job at making it feel like a hostile, alien wilderness. All sorts of creatures roam the land from insects the size of your head, to dinosaur-like aliens with toenails as big as your whole character. Some will ignore you, not seeing you as a threat and others will camouflage themselves, ambushing you if you aren't paying close attention. And battling all of these creatures is so fun because of how deep and customizable the battle system is. It has a fast pace for a battle systems that is built around special attacks with cooldowns. Battling and exploring are so enjoyable in this game but they open up even more with one of Xenoblade X's main highlights; the Skells.

Huge mechs that can transform into cars, fly and unleash crazy attacks with a bunch of different weapons you can choose to deck them out with. And it's all seamless in its execution. You can be in a fight on foot and then quickly jump into your skell to deliver massive attacks, see a mountain peak that you can't reach and jump in your skell to fly up to it and then get out to explore. The skells really add to the game's exploration and combat.

And that's not even mentioning the huge amount of engaging side content and world building in the game. Xenoblade X has a main story you can go though but the main attraction is the side content you choose to do. There are many optional party members with quests that delve into their characters and back stories, quests that reveal secrets about the planet, the people that live in the colony, the alien species that you can recruit to your colony and how they all relate to one another. A lot of the quests are connected and have overarching plot lines throughout the game. You end up involved with everything from fixing a coffee machine to exposing a dangerous cult, solving a murder mystery and toppling the plot of aliens intent on wiping out mankind. The game really immerses you in its world and characters easily giving you 100s of hours of quality playtime. Definitely a RPG you should look into if you haven't. I'm hoping it gets a Switch port soon since it's only on the Wii U right now.

2. Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age

An amazing installment of the Final Fantasy series from the PS2 remastered for the PS4. The Zodiac Age is the best version of FF12 so if you've never played it or you've only played the PS2 original, this is a great game to play regardless. It's a great RPG with a mature, political plot line, excellent script and dub, customizable jobs, a real time combat system, great open exploration and interesting characters. You can really get into the nitty gritty with the battle system that lets you customize the programming of your characters to perform certain actions in certain conditions. Couldn't recommend this gam enough.

3. Pokemon Black 2 and White 2

In my opinion, the most solid Pokemon experience. It has some of the best selection of Pokemon, some of the best mechanics ever introduced to the series, a solid main game and a large amount of post game content. I really liked the Pokemon World Tournament where you could battle gym leaders and champions from Gens 1-5.

4. Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix

My favorite Kingdom Hearts game. This game has such a fun battle system and a fun story traveling through different Disney Worlds. In the West, we finally got a chance to play the Final Mix version that added a bunch of new things including Limit Form which is just the coolest. The HD collection 1.5 + 2.5 is a great way to play this game.

5. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

This game has a ton of style and flair. It's full of vibrant colors and flashy attacks and cinematics. If you despise J-pop, you won't enjoy it since the game is centered around it but if you don't mind it, it's such a great game with fun characters, a great turn based battle system and some Shin Megami Tensei/Fire Emblem elements though they're done in such a way you don't really need to know anything about either franchise to really enjoy the game.

6. Xenoblade Chronicles

This game has an engaging story, a fun battle system where you can see the future and try to prevent fatal attacks and a beautiful world to explore that shines through even on the limited graphics from the Nintendo Wii or even the New 3DS port.

7. Fire Emblem Awakening

FEA is a really great introduction to the Fire Emblem series. It's really accessible, has a great cast of characters, isn't too difficult with the strategy type gameplay. I really liked how you could build bonds between your army units to make them fight better together and even have them get married and have kids who would eventually become new units for you to use.

8. Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

A full remake of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. These games really make the Hoenn region shine. The addition of the Dexnav which let you search for Pokemon with hidden abilities was really great and the Latios flying was a really cool end game addition. The way the mixed up some of the old areas and made them new and more interesting were welcome changes.

9. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep

The prequel game of the Kingdom Hearts series, BBS was a really fun game that introduced commands and command styles. It was really fun customizing your commands to use different kinds of abilities and then deal a bunch of damage when you unlocked a command style which always was some crazy over the top attack. There were also shotlocks and d-links and three different characters. The game had a lot of new and fun mechanics that it added to the KH series.

10. Pandora's Tower

I think this game is pretty underrated. It came out in America with a big delay along with Xenoblade Chronicles and Last Story for the Wii so it got pretty overshadowed. I played the E Shop version on Wii U and it's really fun. A short game but it uses the Wii's motion controls in an interesting way, where you point at enemy weak points and grapple them with your chain and then pull to yank parts out of them. Pandora's Tower has a really cool premise where you're trying to save a woman who is cursed to slowly become a monster. The only way to save her is to go into these huge dungeons and bring her the meat of monsters since they're the only thing that can hold back the transformation. So the game is split between you exploring these dungeons and also spending time with your partner outside of them. This leads to an interesting time management system where you don't want to spend too much time exploring without brining back demon flesh to stop her transformation. There were a few times where I took too long and her painful transformation had progressed several stages. It really made me feel guilty and the little moments you can have with her outside of dungeons really made me care about making sure she was ok. The dungeons themselves are great, full of puzzles and great boss fights which feel like puzzles themselves. In a lot of ways they reminded me of Zelda bosses but with more to them.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Xenoblade Chronicles X
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Final Fantasy XII
Pokemon Black 2 and White 2
Kingdom Hearts 2
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Xenoblade Chronicles
Fire Emblem Awakening
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
Pandora's Tower
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

--VOTE INFO END--

Sp1 · Jul 9, 2018

Skies of Arcadia: Legends (highlight game) - This game is a shining example for being more than the sum of its parts. There's nothing that conveys a sense of true, classic adventure just like SoA. You truly feel like discovering an actual world, while becoming the king of pirates. The gameplay is servicable and there's no huge twists in the story, but the atmosphere of this journey puts it above all - thanks to its sheer amount of classical JRPG setpieces and things to discover.

Bloodborne- This might be one of the most beautiful games I've ever seen, it's an absolute treat for any fan of classic horror. The amount of visual detail is overwhelming. Slightly more music within the stages could have elevated the atmosphere even further in certain parts, but it's still one of the best in the classic horror segment. Level design follows Metroidvania-tradition in a superb way, which makes exploration an absolute joy - not last because of its lack of hand holding and other interruptions. The combat is fun and never feels cheap, despite the challenge and a few hit or miss boss fights. All the right parts from Souls have been streamlined.

Nier - This somewhat Zelda-inspired title is not only an A-RPG, but also constantly pays homage to other parts of videogame history (without ever feeling incoherent). It can be a schmup, a text adventure or a Diablo clone depending on the developers' mood. Yet not a single one of these parts plays badly, not last because the controls always work well. Certain aspects like boss fights can even feel quite spectacular. The game's poor critical reception is absolutely baffling, considering how many other games fail when they try to mix things up like this one. Other than that, what stands out are the memorable characters, the smart use of its medium for the narrative it tells and the best soundtrack of its generation. There is just so much that's going to stick with you, even with some of its rough edges.

Chrono Trigger - I have finished this game 3 or 4 times and it keeps growing on me, after my first playthrough has been a little underwhelming in contrast to my expectations. However, the more often you play it, the more you realize how amazingly paced this game is. And while I was initially disappointed by how simple the story and its time travel plots felt, you really start to appreciate the writing on multiple playthroughs. Each era contains well written and distinct fairy tales with likeable characters, which are subtly connected. Add on top of that a legendary soundtrack and beautiful pixel art. You also really have to appreciate short RPGs like Chrono Trigger, which feel feature-complete despite "only" being 20 hours long. Many other RPGs should still take note of this.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - When at their best, Super Mario RPGs offer completely unique scenarios and distinct gameplay variety. When done well, all that comes with endearing and somewhat self-aware writing. Plus, ideally they breathe new life into turn based battle systems. PMTTYD is the title that did it all best. Initially, the game's blatant similarities with its predecessor were disappointing, but it eventually became the definite Mario RPG experience over time. There's all kinds of adventuring, fighting, humour, puzzle solving and mysteries packed into a grab bag of wacky ideas.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - It's Shin Megami Tensei plus (anime) cyberpunk from the 90s, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of both. Despite lacking some refinements of later SMT entries, the core gameplay is as fun as ever - from keeping track of your team of demons to crawling through its big dungeons. For the English translation they have done an amazing job. Talking to demons to recruit them for battle is tons of fun because of its comedic localisation, which at the same time doesn't feel out of place to the game's otherwise serious tone. It's a great take on SMT and something any fan of Cyberpunk can check out too. It's also a rare SMT game that doesn't go on for too long..

Rune Factory Frontier - This is a gigantic game, which mixes life sim, Harvest Moon farming and real-time dungeon crawling. There's basically no hand holding, so you're off to your own to manage all these aspects of your life and slowly progress through gigantic dungeons. It is amazing how much you can do and how differently all these seemingly different aspects correlate with each other, depending solely on your preferences in gameplay. It's highly addictive and definitely the best of its series, which was much more limited on handhelds. It might only be a little too open for its own good though and be a little too cryptic in its story progression here and there.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey - This might be the most mature SMT game and a pinnacle hardcore dungeon crawler. Not last because of its somewhat 'dry' sci-fi setting and art direction (kind of butchered in the 3DS remake), which doesn't lose its unique SMT touch. Stranded in another dimension, in which human sin manifests, the series' dungeon crawling aspects receive an unique survival touch. The gameplay is as good as ever when it comes to advancing through giant mazes with your team of subordinated demons. SJ has a slightly altered battle system, which makes micro managing your party even more important for survival - which feels great and rewarding. Small downsides of this game are the repetitive music and the fact that progression at points can be cryptic almost like a NES game. Though my only big gripe for the original release is that the final boss is practically impossible without getting help from the internet.

Final Fantasy VI – This game rivals Chrono Trigger when it comes to the most impressive spritework and soundtrack for a 16-bit RPG. Needless to say, stay away from the butchered phone- and PC-versions. What also needs to be commended is its gameplay, despite being technically more traditional than Chrono. FF6 manages to breathe new life into turn based mechanics by giving each of the many characters unique fighting abilities and also making sure that you switch between characters often. Its high random encounter rate is an undeniable problem, but the quick pacing of battles makes it easily forgivable. If I had any bigger gripe with the game, it would be that the sheer amount of characters doesn't allow to flesh out certain story aspects enough. There's many memorable character scenes, but they could have been connected a little better.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - The turn based yet interactive battle system is as good as ever in these Mario RPGs, but in this particular iteration they went even further. Bowser in this game is a very well written protagonist, while Mario & Luigi kind of take the backseat into a separate yet connected gameplay aspect. As they have been eaten by Bowser, you control them on the bottom screen of the DS, where Bowser's innards constitute a simultaneous adventure. That feature brings many unique mechanics, since the bottom screen interacts with the main JRPG happenings on the upper screen for both puzzles, exploration and battles.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne - This wasn't my introduction to the series. Hence I can't deny that a certain surprise-factor was lost on me, nor did the game feel as hard as other gamers illustrated it - but it's still a great game. As most games in this surprisingly diverse series, the title offers a unique take on a demon-infested Tokyo. The graphics in particular hold up surprisingly well - the stylized art direction is amazing. A 3D world of this quality also hasn't yet been tackled by another entry in the (main) series. Its strategic battles are fun, so is managing your team of demons to keep up with the difficulty. Some mechanics weren't as refined as other titles yet, demon negotiating especially, but it still holds up fantastically overall.

Parasite Eve - I wasn't too shocked when I saw that this title was directed by the same person as Chrono Trigger. The battle system is basically a mixture of CT's active time system and light bullet hell. Despite the game's slow beginning, there's a lot of fun found in battles. In fact, they can get pretty exhilerating. PE's horror isn't too frightening nowadays and the prerendered visuals aren't as strong as other games of that time, yet its wacky New York setting alone makes this RPG still feel fresh today. Apart from its horror elements, PE also features a pleasant buddy cop theme with likeable characters, even if the story itself is kind of B-movie-ish. Plus, the soundtrack is still strong. And just like Chrono Trigger, it's a delightfully short RPG that knows when to stop.

Breath of Fire IV - This is a game that above all excels at its writing. Its premise is quite familiar, it might feel like a mixture of the original Dragonball and the original Star Wars. Yet the execution is where the story of BoFIV becomes special. There's very loveable characters, great humor and a surprisingly well done amount of drama. The main villain in particular has been handled well. All that comes with some of the best PS1 spritework, an amazing art direction and soundtrack. The gameplay unfortunately isn't always keeping up with the story and presentation though. While its low encounter rate and small dungeons make for a quick pacing, the battle system takes quite a while to become interesting.

Final Fantasy VII – To put this out of the way, I'm not wearing any rose-tinted glasses for the game, I only played it when the remaster became a thing. Yet I can see how this title caught on so well - it's a really good beginner's RPG. The mechanics are a simple yet still fun classic JRPG fair. I also have a soft spot for well made, pre-rendered backgrounds, which allow for an unique ,,cinematography". Also, in contrast to its bleak cyberpunk atmosphere (which still holds up), the characters still feel lighthearted in tone. That's especially true, because Nomura's edgy preferences don 't yet come through - the characters still feel cartoony, in a good way. The right amount of seriousness though comes from the amazing soundtrack and the art direction. A real bummer is its undeniably awful translation, even more so for languages other than English.

Paper Mario - While this title felt like it has become a little redundant after its sequel came out, it's still worth playing. The similarities come in gameplay, exploration- and puzzle-design. Yet its story scenarios still stand on their own.

The World Ends With You - TWEWY has quite an unique setting that captures the nostalgic feeling of urban summers, while also stylizing modern Tokyo through its jazzy art direction and fantastical elements. There's many twists and turns in its story, even though I don't know how well its emo-aspect holds up. The battles are one-of-a-kind because of the stylus-control and interplay between the DS screens. It doesn't overstay its welcome, but optional post-game content enhances the story quite a bit. Bonus points for making a J-Pop soundtrack that I can tolerate.

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir - Needless to say, this game is an audiovisual treat, even more so in HD. It captures the feeling of playing a fairytale perfectly. The gameplay offers some of the best fast paced 2D combat and remains highly addictive for quite a while. Alchemy and other RPG-mechanics make this an deeper experience than your average brawler though. Unfortunately, the balancing is a bit off. And despite its improvements over the PS2 original, this remake still needed to cut some fat - the completion of 5 similar scenarios is undeniably draining. However, it offers a satisfying story conclusion that find a nice way to avoid being either too sappy or cheery.

South Park: The Stick of Truth - Apart from offering the best kind of fanservice to the show's longtime fans, SoT simply has great game design. The game's map is open, yet compact and filled with secrets, which makes exploration a joy. Battles are turn-based but semi-active like Super Mario RPGs. While battles aren't as refined as their inspiration, they are accompanied by environmental puzzles and a variety of surprises outside of battles. Add on top of that great writing that easily surpasses the later seasons of the show and tons of well made fan service for long time fans.

Tales of Symphonia - This is still the best Tales of-game that I've played. The story feels grand, you probably don't see the twists coming if this is your first in the series and the beat-em-up-esque battles are fun, even for the series' first attempt at 3D. Plus you still get puzzles, unlike the later iterations. The characters are likeable enough, the music and art direction are great – especially in towns.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - I wanted to cram this one in over a few other choices, because it's the first S-RPG I thoroughly enjoyed. That's because, similarly to Shining Force, it mixes genre-typical long battles with ordinary JRPG exploring. What I enjoy about its dungeons and villages is also that they are optional, but if you go through them you might find secrets like the ability to revive a permanently dead team member. On top of that, it streamlined the series' systems and menus where it mattered.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Skies of Arcadia: Legends
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Bloodborne
Nier
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Chrono Trigger
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
Rune Factory: Frontier
Final Fantasy VI
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Parasite Eve
Breath of Fire IV
Final Fantasy VII
The World Ends With You
Paper Mario
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
Tales of Symphonia
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

CottonWolf · Jul 9, 2018

HIGHLIGHT

Guns of Infinity

I really umm'd and arrggh'd about what game to highlight here. Ask me on two different days and you might getting me listing two different games from my full point list as my favourite RPG. So, I thought I'd play this tactically. Maybe just maybe this makes it onto the list at 100, and I've done everyone a favour. Morrowind doesn't need any help. Tactic's Ogre's getting on there for sure.

But Guns of Infinity?

Guns of Infinity doesn't stand a chance without this vote here. You're probably not even heard of it. It's the sequel to another fantastic little game called Sabres of Infinity, and yes, it's one of Choice of Game's game books. You play as cavalry officer over the course of a 10 year war in wonderfully realised fictional world. The results of your stats and choices ripple out over the course of play leading potentially very different endings. Basically, you're trying to be the best damn cavalry officer you can be, and within the limits the game gives you, you have a suprising amount of freedom. "Best damn cavalry officer" is subjective, after all. Embrace feminism and become a pariah, sacrifice your command for fun and profit, design new guns, commit war crimes. The game gives you so much leeway, I guarentee you your character will be completely different to mine.

FULL POINT VOTES

In no particular order:

Final Fantasy VII - Needs no introduction. Great soundtrack, surprisingly affecting story, likeable characters, materia.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - The most fully realised world in gaming history? Maybe. Also totally insane. There's a character who realises they're in a videogame after marrying and mating with the God of Schemes. CHIM is weird. Someone people put Michael Kirkbride and Yoko Taro in a room with vast quantities of alcohol and LSD and make them write a game together. Thanks.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together - Great party building combined with a choice driven story.

Persona 3 Portable - Okay people. There's a right way to play P3, and I'm letting you in on the secret. 1) Don't play FES. Yes. I know. Extra game after the game. But it really undercuts the themes of the original campaign. Though discussing why would be a spoiler of massive proportions. 2) Be a girl. The social links are much better. Just don't date Ken.

Planescape: Torment - The original story game. Would it be better as a visual novel? Maybe. But it remains one of the most reactive games ever penned, and has a fanastic world.

Pillars of Eternity - Great RTwP combat. Great character building options. Best nihilist philosopher simulator in gaming. Make sure you get the expansions too, they have some of the best content.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - As long as you have a Gamecube and four friends with GBAs, this is one of the best gaming experiences you'll ever have. You don't? Don't bother then.

Golden Sun: The Lost Age - There's a lot wrong with this game. It's far too wordy, but the systems are great, and Jenna's Theme is so good.

Fire Emblem - By which I mean The Blazing Blade. It's Fire Emblem. You know how this game works. It's the first one of those I played, and still my favourite. Lyn's cool.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Guns of Infinity
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Final Fantasy VII
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Persona 3 Portable
Planescape: Torment
Pillars of Eternity
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Fire Emblem
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Crusader Kings II
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked
Persona 4 Golden
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Final Fantasy VI
Dragon Age: Origins
Pokemon Gold/Silver
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Quinton · Jul 9, 2018

10. Seiken Densetsu 3

Alas, poor Seiken Densetsu 3. This sequel to internationally-renowned SNES roleplaying game Secret of Mana was never released outside Japan, and your humble writer is fortunate enough to have known someone in middle school with stacks of floppy disks filled with ROMs. Otherwise this rare gem would have floated straight past me, and that would be a real shame -- Seiken Densetsu 3 is packed with charm and improves greatly upon its predecessor's systems. It tells multiple tales which weave together in cool ways depending on a player's choice of main character and two sidekicks out of a party of six candidates. This unique approach is felt with every subsequent replay, where different characters can be made to take the spotlight and lead their trio of ragtag heroes against varying villains. Player choice also ties heavily into the game's class system; twice throughout the adventure your charactes will have the opportunity to transform into one of two separate classes, meaning there are several paths to take and an impressive array of final class picks. Combat strategy varies considerably based on these decisions. I still remember sweating over a GameFAQs guide back in 1998 or so, worried about Duran's future livelihood and Hawk's viability. Now that's nostalgia.

09. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

First up, a confession: I've only played the PSP version, so I can't speak to the PSX original. I understand some considerable changes were made to balance, gameplay systems, translation, and more. Regardless, the PSP version had a way with me. For hundreds of hours, I scoured the map searching for the best equipment to outfit my party of military-political who's whos in this isometric strategy RPG crafted largely in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics from the legendary Yasumi Matsuno. (Fun fact: at one time Matsuno was prolific enough on Facebook to like my random photos of my cat. Is that cool or what?) Players follow Denam (not the jeans) through four chapters of sociopolitical unrest in the famed Ogre Battle universe, experimenting with job classes and finding that richly sought-after peak strategy groove. Packed with optional dungeons and chock full of medieval flavor, Tactics Ogre replaced its more well-known successor FFT for me when I realized that major narrative choices occurring at the ends of plot chapters has a direct effect on the remainder of the storyline, fueling my BioWare-loving soul in ways I never would have expected from Matsuno-san.

08. Fallout 3

As Dave Grohl would say, I've got another confession to make: Fallout 3 is one of my only real experiences with Bethesda until very, very recently. It was my first real dig into open world gaming, and, well, y'all know how so many of us can get with so many of our firsts. I have little doubt this game ranks so highly in partial thanks to its ability to wow me with open world potentiality for the very first time. There's something about Fallout 3, though, that I've just got to tell you. I have a shite memory, you see, and it's gotten me into some serious scrapes in life. But it's been 8 years since I stepped outside the relative safety of my vault and became the wanderer of the Capital Wasteland, and I can still tell you so, so much about that grand dystopian adventure. Fallout 3 screams atmosphere. From the mutant-infested suburbs to the orphanage at Little Lamplight, from the ruins of American glory found at a naval-carrier-turned-makeshift-city to the dirty water it rests upon, I cannot get this setting out of my head. Every step I took in that inaugural journey surprised me in some way, every place brought such character through its environmental storytelling, every raider dead made me feel like I'd made the world a slightly safer place. Fallout 3 is a masterstroke in mise-en-scene, and I greatly anticipate (finally) playing the rest of the series soon.

07. Dragon Age Inquisition

This isn't exactly ResetEra's favorite game, and full disclosure here, there are bits and pieces to it that really could have used an overhaul. Its multitude of side quests are often far weaker than many of us would have liked, preferring to hamster wheel players into fetching junk and finding notes on dead bodies rather than breathing further life into a beautiful world with the sorts of NPC interactions that make so many other RPGs so memorable. But here's the thing -- it truly is a beautiful world, and there are so many hours in it genuinely full of rich NPC interactions courtesy of the game's stellar banter system. Dragon Age Inquisition has one of BioWare's best casts -- no small achievement -- featuring nine diverse companions and another trio of high-ranking advisors who receive just as much development throughout the course of the game's epic adventure. Every zone is gorgeous and full of detail, showcasing EA's landmark Frostbite engine in ways that quite literally turned me from one of those folks you'd always hear saying graphics don't make a game to someone who values art design and aesthetics just as much or more so than most other industry aspects. Factor in an addictive crafting system, a solid main questline, great atmospheric music tracks and a postgame DLC that might just be the best mission in all of Dragon Age and you have a recipe for one of my all-time faves.

06. Mass Effect 2

"Come for the increased production values, stay for the best ensemble cast in gaming," the tourism board guide to Mass Effect 2 ought to say... if Mass Effect 2 were listed on tourism boards, anyway. I've got a major affinity for space adventures, having grown up on Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5 and all the rest. I've also got a major affinity for BioWare, one which led me to some prime times with likeminded folks in a certain mixed-legacy forum community and awarded me the opportunity to travel and meet fellow Mass Effect diehards across the continent. It's safe to say I can't be 100% objective then when it comes to the story of Commander Shepard's desperate struggle to prevent galactic annihilation, but my many, many trilogy runs have at least let me feel comfortable in ranking the individual portions of that story. I'm aware that when it comes to Mass Effect, Era has a lot of love for the original. I want to mention that I love it, too. I love its aesthetic, I love its final act, and I love the universe that it built. But I love its sequels more. To me, Mass Effect 2 is where the series gains an identity. And I adore that identity. It looks sharp, its designs are strong, it plays well and it begins to make good on the series' famous characterization by supplying players with a dozen squadmates (not to mention supporting characters) and giving them each an arc where they grow and become loyal to the cause (or don't, depending on how things go in their unique missions). The main narrative of ME2 is probably the trilogy's weakest, but I'll be damned if I care when it takes the time to bring me such a memorable ensemble. To say nothing of its endgame stretch, which will have you pumping your fists with anticipation if you're anything like me. They don't make 'em like this anymore, friends.

05. Dragon Age Origins

The BioWare love train continues with my favorite swords-and-sorcery game of all time, Dragon Age Origins. I played this via PS3 port, where substantial lag problems compelled me to crank the difficulty down as low as possible, so I'm not qualified to tell you why its combat is fun. In my mind, frankly, it isn't. Not exactly a great way to begin the conversation, admittedly, but here's the thing -- none of that really matters to me nearly as much as this game's bloody, relentless, dark fantasy atmosphere. It's pervasive; you'll see splatters of red in the title screen, in houses-turned-crime-scenes, throughout dungeons and (perhaps a bit goofily) all over your protagonist's face after a slashfest. This is more than just edgy, though; the bleak color pallete and grimdark themes prop the narrative and myriad of sidequests into something special, and Inon Zur's moody themes further enrich that vibe. In BioWare fashion, the cast is varied. Some are snarky, some are solemn, some are deceptively complex. One's a golem. Another is a dog. It's a motley crew, full of wit and development, and their story comes to a head in a fantastic finale with some of BioWare's best player choices well-reflected in the company's best epilogue.

04. Mass Effect 3

It's at this point in my list that two things are probably obvious. For one thing, I clearly love BioWare. For another, my Mass Effect opinions are something. Mass Effect 3 isn't a game that's gone down in history as bad, pe se, but there have been few internet shitstorms as vast and time-tested as the one about this game's ending. Even with a free DLC that helped to patch things up as best as duct tape has ever patched a crater, the arguments over ME3's closing moments remain the most prolific talking point some six years later. I was "lucky" to have learned the details of the game's original ending over two weeks prior to launch, and it helped to prepare me for the disappointment to come. I'm also, genuinely, lucky to not hate the ending, especially as of the aforementioned free DLC. I'm fine with it, and that's gone a long way in helping me to replay Shepard's trilogy. Have you noticed that this entire write-up has, like, automatically centered on the ending so far? Do you see the staying power of this perennial hotbed subject? Let's move on already. I love this game. It's the culmination of the kind of space epic I'm always, always craving, with moments of gripping melancholy interlaced across a perilous fight for survival. Seeing the series' fan favorite races coming together in a united front after setting aside differences is almost as fun as helping to shape the climaxes of those respective differences, and watching Mass Effect's award-winning cast treat each and every conversation like it could be their last is heartrending in all the best ways. And the Citadel DLC, the best $15 purchase I have ever made, is a triumphant celebration of all the ingredients vital to Mass Effect's groundbreaking success. Although the game admittedly suffers from some disappointing non-choice moments and a somewhat invasive recurring dream sequence that won't quite mesh with many players' personal interpretations of Commander Shepard, my luck continued to go well here, because those too-defining Shepard moments sync quite nicely with the sort of character I've spent the previous two games helping to shape. So it's not a fair scenario, but for my own enjoyment it isn't a detractor, even if I can recognize the issue. But whatever, friends. It's the last hurrah for the crew of Normandy, and I am there for every minute of it.

03. Final Fantasy 7

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was sixth grade, and the guy who would soon start supplying me with those floppy disks full of RPGs was wearing a Cloud Strife shirt on a Friday. It was the end of the school week, and I couldn't wait to come home and rewatch the most recent episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. DS9 was all I wanted to think about, all I wanted to talk about, but there was something about that oversized sword and spiky blond hair that just spoke to me. So I said, "hey, Eddie, what's the deal with that punk on your tee?" And he looked at me and said, "see the eyes? They're mako blue. This is Cloud the fuck Strife," he cheered, in that way that sixth-graders who think they're cool enough for unnecessary profanity will dictate. I thought Eddie was cool as hell for it, too. I still do. Eddie convinced me to buy a Sony PlayStation with my grass-mowing money, so that I could experience Cloud the fuck Strife for mine own. Deep Space Nine had to take a backseat for a while, because I'd discovered what it means to love gaming. Sure, I'd played Sonic the Hedgehog. Eternal Champions. ESWAT. Even a little Mortal Kombat. But Final Fantasy 7 is Final Fantasy 7. The world is grim, the skies are dark, the steampunk-meets-90s-Japan-meets-everything-else-on-earth is almost as charming as the ridiculous script. The characters are either mature or they aren't, they're either deep or they're funny (or sometimes both), they're either so profane that sixth-grade Eddie and I blanched or they're softer-spoken and ill-fated. The story pairs sweeping stakes with real and brutal consequences. Every victory is hard-fought for the hardscrabble members of AVALANCHE. The gameplay offers plenty of minigames to break things up from the battle system, which -- thanks to materia and flashy limit breaks -- is pretty good too. There's a moment in every 90s JRPG initiate's life, I think, where we stepped out onto a world map and were floored by the scale of it all. Final Fantasy 7 took its sweet time getting me there, and when I got there I dropped my controller onto my chair and my 11-year-old jaw just gaped in awe. It helps that Nobuo Uematsu's world map theme sweeps over us simultaneously. And it cements this game as one of the best experiences my 30 years have had when that self-same theme sweeps over me again at a climactic moment late in the storyline of Cloud the fuck Strife, whose struggles with identity are almost as cool as...

02. Xenogears

Pizza Hut had some PlayStation demos on offer back in the autumn of 1998, and Eddie and I -- and our growing band of misfits -- had the pleasure of learning about Xenogears and Metal Gear Solid through those demos. We must have played through the short sample offerings of both games dozens of times over the course of that fateful month. I could regale you with tales of how Metal Gear Solid changed my life, but that's no RPG. Xenogears, however, is a monster of an RPG. It's long, engrossing, and sports the best damn lore I've ever seen in a Japanese roleplaying game. Tetsuya Takahashi and his talented team of crazy people subjected players to a world so rich in past that every time you think you've got it all figured out you realize there's another twist, and when you complete the journey and think you have a total grasp of what the hell you just watched you come to find there's a fan-translated sourcebook on the net that increases the scope of the game's universe exponentially. Xenogears centers on Fei Fong Wong and Elhaym van Houten as they pilot their not-Gundams through a blood-soaked planet trying to right the many wrongs inflicted by political opportunists and right-wing nutjobs. Along the way, they'll meet a dazzling cast of JRPG tropes with strong tales of their own, and they'll unmask the true villains in a truly sprawling rogues gallery. Fei and Elly will learn a lot more about themselves than most games would dare to attempt, and a crash course in Jungian ideas will clash with the thoughts of Nietzche just as surely as the surface-dwelling 'lambs' will clash with their cloud-ruling invisible masters. If the preceding sentence read like word soup to you, congratulations: you've just taken your first step into an unforgettable adventure.

01. Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter

I was going through some very hard times in 2016. In fact, that might have been the worst year of my life. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and by the time I began formulating a plan of action I was sleepless in cheap motel rooms and in and out of hospitals across several states. I hit rock bottom, and my recovery has been a slow, challenging ordeal. I needed positive influences in my life desperately, and a friend of mine recommended Trails in the Sky. I'd heard about it here and there through the years but never really took the time to investigate. The first game, appropriately named First Chapter, surprised me with its depth of characterization and lighthearted old-school adventure feel. I was enamored, and shocked by a powerful and moving ending, which led me to load up Second Chapter the following morning. It's good. It's really, really good. The gameplay systems are fine, but that's not why you'll be here. You'll be here for the story, with its sweeping moments and painful moments and prideful moments and shameful moments, for the journey of Estelle as she braves the unknown for a love that has grown her, shaped her, and made her the heroic young woman that she's become. There's a reason I tend to open with something deeply personal when touting Trails in the Sky -- I cried often, and loudly, during this game's closing chapters. I wept, and in weeping I rediscovered myself, and my addiction to great storytelling. My heart felt broken at the start of this 80-hour sequel, but by the end -- much like Estelle -- I was whole again. How can an experience like this be anything less than #1?

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Xenogears
Final Fantasy 7
Mass Effect 3
Dragon Age Origins
Mass Effect 2
Dragon Age Inquisition
Fallout 3
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Seiken Densetsu 3
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Final Fantasy Tactics
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Final Fantasy 9
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 10
Mass Effect
Star Ocean 2: The Second Story
Suikoden 2
Final Fantasy 6
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

kswiston · Jul 9, 2018

I think that we are around 90 votes so far, which is a good start! We need at least double that for a well rounded top 100 though, so hopefully many more people plan to participate in coming days.

A few people have offered to donate game keys to our raffle, including Dark Souls 3. I will be updating the list of raffle prizes in the next few days. Remember, if you want to qualify for the raffle (which will include Amazon credit, game keys, and whatever else people wish to contribute), you will need to submit a list of at least 5 titles with full explanations justifying your choices.

I am noticing a decent amount of Panzer Dragoon Saga love. I will also be voting for that game when I revise my personal list. It's too bad that the price keeps that game from reaching a wider audience. It was definitely one of the highlights of the 32/64bit generation.

galv · Jul 9, 2018

I'll be writing a bit more and editing this as I go along, but preliminarily done.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Dark Souls 3
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Persona 5
Final Fantasy IX
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
NieR: Automata
Mass Effect 2
Pokemon Red/Blue
Yakuza 0
Persona 4 Golden
Dark Souls
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Chrono Trigger
Mass Effect
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Transistor
Pokemon Blaze Black/Volt White 2
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

#1 - Dark Souls 3

As a highlight, I think I need to give more attention to Dark Souls 3 out of my entire list of essential RPGs. Dark Souls 3 is one of the most overlooked titles here on Era, and I'm here to hopefully shed some light as to why I love Dark Souls 3. Dark Souls 3 was easily my GOTY in 2016, and back then I had this to say about the game:

A return to the roots of the series made for a very enjoyable game, filled with epic moments, gorgeous scenery and faster, tighter gameplay. I'll be honest, I think that the original Dark Souls is probably my favourite video game of all time. Which means that the fanservice in this game was always going to bring me to either smile, or shed a tear. And it's done very tastefully. Dark Souls 3 is like a more refined Dark Souls, bringing with it its own new ideas. Where Dark Souls falls short towards the end, Dark Souls 3 is fantastic throughout. Beautiful level design, the Cathedral of the Deep being one of the standout levels in all of From Soft's games, to the boss design of the Nameless King and the Soul of Cinder, the latter of which I consider the best boss battle in the series. From delivered a masterpiece to close out the series, one of the best trilogies in gaming history.

Upon reflection, I don't think I said anything wrong back then. In fact, I should have levied the game even more praise. FromSoft really pulled out all of the stops to ensure that Dark Souls 3 wasn't only a fantastic game in its own right, but a fantastic Dark Souls title. People complain that the game was unoriginal, that the game didn't do anything on its own and I have to highly disagree. Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, Cathedral of the Deep, Archdragon Peak, Painted World of Ariandel, Lothric Castle and Undead Settlement to me all rank within some of the greatest level design that FromSoft has ever made. Nameless King, Soul of Cinder, Twin Princes, Abyss Watchers, Sister Freide, Demon Princes, Slave Knight Gael, Darkeater Midir, Champion Gundyr, Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Pontiff Sulyvahn, Dragonslayer Armor, Aldritch, Oceiros and Old Demon King are among FromSoft's best designed and most fun to fight boss fights ever. That lineup of bosses along with that lineup of levels on its own should have sent Dark Souls 3 to the top to be hailed as a masterpiece by all who ever had played a Souls game. Not to mention the amount of design changes to make Dark Souls combat flow and work on a faster yet balanced level, allowing for shields without breaking the game, a great deal of improvement to the RPG elements allowing for variety in builds including archery which is finally completely viable from the start, weapon arts that are ridiculously fun to use, some of FromSoft's greatest abomination creatures and enemy designs, memorable moments such as stepping into Irithyll that take your breath away and some of FromSoft's best soundtrack work to date. It honestly kills a small part of me whenever someone says they're a fan of Souls games and yet skipped Dark Souls 3 on some misguided idea that the game was mediocre. Pah.

Dark Souls 3 deserved its time in the sun, and now, it's too late.

#2 - Persona 5

Before I begin, I want to say that I'll be heavily biased towards the Persona series as a whole, seeing as I played through both 4 and 5 last year. Persona 4 immediately became one of my favourite games ever made, and one of the few games that managed to hold my interest over 60 hours of gameplay. After finishing Persona 4, I immediately jumped into Persona 5. I had a little amount of trepidation, not only considering the fact that the game was supposed to be over 100 hours long, but that it had been slammed as an absolute slog by fans of the game here on ResetEra. Sorry to say, I couldn't see it. All I found was an overwhelming feeling to keep going, keep playing. I finished the game in a couple of weeks this past month, few games with a length like this manage to stay fresh and entertaining from minute one to minute 6000. Most of that comes from a time-tested battle system, which in Persona 5 introduces some older elements from the Shin Megami Tensei/Persona games, namely, the ability to talk to demons during combat, as well as new elements in the addition of guns, which can be really, really useful if used correctly. Furthermore, I have to say, dungeon design is fantastic. Unlike the previous Persona games, the main dungeons in the game are no longer randomly generated - this is, in my opinion, far better than a random dungeon, especially combined with the story elements and encounter design now being tailored to the player, not to mention set-pieces that aren't necessarily mini-bosses or bosses; you now have smaller objectives which breaks up the old tedium of the dungeon grinds, where your only objective was to get to the 10th floor. And of course, as you progress in the game, your party grows more and more powerful (and thank the lord that they finally level up along with you) and can be switched in and out at any time, giving you far more options to tackle certain objectives. All of this keeps the main game from becoming stale. And of course, the other side of the gameplay is the "Japan Simulator" segment where you manage your relationships to people you meet around the place. If you enjoyed these elements in the previous Persona games, you'll feel right at home here, as they're written just as well, if a little too safe. So up until now, Persona 5 has just refined the experience from the previous Persona games. Here's where not enough praise can be given to the game however, the art direction and general aesthetic is absolutely stellar. Let's face it, Persona 5 is the most stylish game out there, there's nothing that comes close (maybe Automata), but every element of Persona 5 is a visual treat. I don't know how much more I can gush about Persona 5, but it really is that good. Don't sleep on it because you heard it's long, it never feels it. Don't sleep on it because you heard it's a slog, it doesn't feel like one (atleast, not the first playthrough). It's a fantastic game, and if you're a fan of Persona, you owe it to yourself to check out Persona 5.

#3 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The greatest videogame ever made. There's absolutely no question about that statement in my mind. There isn't anything else that can be said, or any other game that comes close to the scope that The Witcher 3 manages to set and achieve. It's an incredible achievement by CD Projekt Red, both technically and on a story level. The Witcher 3 is the most immersive video-game I've ever played, with some of the greatest writing in video-games, one of the greatest open-worlds in video-games, and some of the greatest characters in video-games. And to top it all off, the game contains over 100 hours of content. Easily. And you won't have even scratched the surface. Every single aspect of the game has a level of polish (get it?) that few games come close to having. Every single quest, random encounter, monster hunt, romance and minigame is memorable, and it's capped off with one of the greatest soundtracks ever made. Then, on top of that, CD Projekt Red released two expansion packs, both of which can be considered full games on their own. Which were at an even higher level, with Blood and Wine being easily 50 hours+ in terms of content and Hearts of Stone containing some of the greatest writing ever seen in a video-game. No, few games will ever come close to achieving what the Witcher 3 has done, and all of its copycats haven't come close. It's going to be a long wait till 2077.

#4 - NieR: Automata

The sequel to NIER, a cult classic RPG on the last generation of consoles, I was interested in Automata - through word of mouth, I was interested from the get-go, not because I had any investment in the Drakengard series, Yoko Taro or NIER, but rather because PlatinumGames was involved. One of the things I look for in video-games is either fantastic gameplay or fantastic story. Because of Platinum's prowess with designing gameplay systems, Automata had the potential for incredible gameplay. Based on the aforementioned cult-classic status of the original game and the amount of lore behind Drakengard/NIER, Automata also had the potential to have incredible story. In other words, Automata was a sure fire bet for acclaim, even before the game came out. But the thing is, a lot of games have the same potential in pre-release and fall completely flat after the first few hours, falling back on tired cliches and repetitive gameplay. Automata manages to avoid this for the most part and rises above. From a combat system with a surprisingly low skill floor and yet boasting the usual PlatinumGames depth that we all know and love, to a downright fantastic story (that I don't wish to spoil in the slightest) and characters that aren't cardboard cutout cliches, Automata fulfills almost all of its pre-release hype and delivers an experience unmatched by other games held as the pinnacles of the medium.

#5 - Mass Effect 2

#6 - Pokemon Red/Blue

#7 - Yakuza 0

As my first foray into the long running Yakuza franchise, I can't believe I never gave this series my time before this. Simply put, I've been missing out on games that understand what it means to be games. Yakuza 0 is, frankly put, fun. You know, that thing that gaming publishers have decided to stay far away from. From a gripping crime thriller of a story to moments that make you revel in the sheer absurdity and creativity on display, Yakuza 0 is an enjoyable ride from start to finish, packed solid with so much content, it could span several games. Indeed, each minigame in Yakuza 0 feels as though it could be a part of its own game, from Dance Dance Revolution to Karaoke to OutRun, there's plenty to do. And the funniest thing is, it's all crammed into the districts of Kamurocho and Dotonbori, both of which are far smaller than the maps you would generally see in the kind of open-world games made by the likes of Rockstar. And thus begins the inevitable Grand Theft Auto comparison, which I wish to end immediately. This is not Grand Theft Auto in the slightest. The similarities stop and end with the fact that they are both games revolving around crime. There are no cars, no focus on Michael Bay-esque explosives or set-piece missions. Pure and simple, Yakuza 0 is a beat-em-up, set in a tightly-made yet tiny in comparison open-world, an open-world that you'll start to love and remember, as each building becomes slowly memorable and lived in. And frankly speaking, comparing Yakuza 0 to any other game does it a disservice. There is nothing on the market that comes close.

#8 - Persona 4 Golden

#9 - Dark Souls

To me, Dark Souls is easily my favorite game of all time. It's not the best, no, but it's the game that impacted me the most and showed me what games can truly be. Sure, it's not the most casually accessible game - there's a lot of information that a new player wouldn't have going into the game. It's purposefully vague and a lot of hints can be missed on the average gamer - I doubt the average gamer without a Wiki would find 90% of the illusory walls, figure out Artorias' connection with the Abyss and with Sif and find the ring to travel there and some really difficult things to figure out without reading every bit of text and understanding every bit of dialogue from every NPC there is.

Dark Souls is elevated past a great videogame because it understands what separates a videogame from a movie or a book or any other form of storytelling. We watch movies that provoke emotional responses through visual and auditory storytelling, from spoken word to action scenes. We read books that provoke emotional responses through prose evoking imagination - the writer has little control on differences from reader to reader. With a movie, each person sees the same thing even while the audience's emotional impact will vary from person to person. A book is entirely dependent on a person's imagination and how well the author can weave together visual scenes through descriptive prose. Coming to video-games, a game director has even more at his disposal, with the addition of interactivity. If the purpose of entertainment content is to provoke an emotional response through story, whether it's enjoyment, horror, laughter, sadness, guilt, or jealousy, all of which a book or a movie can achieve, a good videogame should be able to do the same. In my eyes, any videogame that can do this is an exception to the norm. Most videogames have terrible stories - the medium is too young to compete with films that have been around for centuries. And they end up trying to ape movies , something that's completely counterproductive. A good book doesn't make a good movie, nor will a good movie be a good book. Why shouldn't that be the case for video-games as well? Work within your medium. A videogame that doesn't use the one aspect that sets it apart from movies or books is a bad videogame. Interactivity, decision making - these are critical components to making a good videogame. Even if it is a walking simulator, good amount of interactivity with the virtual world makes for a much more immersive game, and immersion is key to evoking the intended emotional response. This is why the Souls series is so great. Everything in the series is designed to be immersive. The difficulty gives a sense of "harsh, but fair." Story and lore aren't just given to you in the form of a journal or long and boring exposition, you have to explore and draw your own conclusions. Player agency is driven not by objective markers but by game design, leading you down paths where the challenge is just right to overcome. There is a real sense that the world doesn't care about you, you aren't some messiah and this adds infinitely to the overall experience. It's not for everyone, but if it is for you, you're the kind of person likely to fall in love with the world, play the absolute shit out of one of the greatest games of all time. Like me.

PhazonBlonde · Jul 9, 2018

kswiston said:
I think that we are around 90 votes so far, which is a good start! We need at least double that for a well rounded top 100 though, so hopefully many more people plan to participate in coming days.

A few people have offered to donate game keys to our raffle, including Dark Souls 3. I will be updating the list of raffle prizes in the next few days. Remember, if you want to qualify for the raffle (which will include Amazon credit, game keys, and whatever else people wish to contribute), you will need to submit a list of at least 5 titles with full explanations justifying your choices.

I am noticing a decent amount of Panzer Dragoon Saga love. I will also be voting for that game when I revise my personal list. It's too bad that the price keeps that game from reaching a wider audience. It was definitely one of the highlights of the 32/64bit generation.

So to qualify for the raffle we need 5 write ups at least? I'll have to get on that for my top 10 then

Deleted member 11008 · Jul 9, 2018

HIGHLIGHT VOTE:

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

I think a lot of people have said many things about this game. This game was the first it push me to see RPG under other eyes, to think about my strategy and how I can affect the flow and performance of the battles thanks to the tools the game gives you. It's a challenging game, sometimes don't forgive your bad performance, but overall it's pretty fair.

Nocturne was not my first Megaten, but I recognized its importance a lot both in my gaming life and its respective series.

FULL POINT GAMES:

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

What I can say about this game? For the first time a Persona game has a really good battle design (even if it's just a reworked battle system from Innocent Sin), the cast is wonderful and music is fantastic. It's a classic.

Chrono Trigger

I don't know how describe it, but I will try: Chrono Trigger isn't perfect, but the sum of its parts certainly push the idea it's. It's the perfect mix between adventure and gameplay, that you could forget it's a RPG.

And it's fine.

Etrian Odyssey IV

This is my first Etrian game, so I guess I'm very biased. Etrian Odyssey -along Shin Megami Tensei- is my favorite RPG series. If Nocturne helped me to push to explore buff and debuffs strategies, well, Etrian push me to explore crazy possibilities. And besides, it make me love the DRPG genre, so that's something important for me.

I wonder if the series will bring new titles in the future. Anyway, I have a lot of titles to play in the meanwhile.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

My first Etrian (or Etrian-like) game, and I didn't knew it! I replayed a bit after the release of the remake and the game still holds up. The only bad thing about the original game are tools (or lack of) in the demon compendium and the demon fusion system, but the game is serviceable.

Final Fantasy X

I confess I played FF X after X-2. I feel the game was sometimes a bit easy, but I feel in that times I didn't explored a lot the skills and strategies this game could offer me. Why I choose it then? Well, the plot is very good and I like the characters. So sometimes a character or plot driven game it's nice to play, too. I will try to play it again in the future, now with my knowledge from other kind of strategies.

Both this and its sequel are wonderful games, but for different reasons, by the way.

Dragon Quest IV

I wish have finished DQ III and DQ V before make this list, but until this moment I feel my favorite Dragon Quest is this. I really like the characters, especially the sisters, Alena and Kyril. The gameplay is surprisingly interesting with the characters, but I miss the reclassing system from the III game. Still, Alena is such a fun character to play thanks to her critical attacks.

Trails in the Sky FC

I know the second game is more popular, but there's something about the first game which is more especial for me. The smaller cast of the plot? The narrative? I don't know. The plot twist was incredible.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

Or basically, SMT I but if it was a tactic JRPG instead. It uses a lot of old tropes and characterizations from the SNES games, and at same time it add new interesting twist to the formula, not just in the gameplay, but also in the narrative.

The game is hard, but it's amazing to play it. When the third entry, Atlus?

Shin Megami Tensei: IV Apocalypse

You can hate it, but it's undeniable it's mechanically the best Megaten game to the date. It would be perfect with better dungeons, but the ones from the games (some which were towns turned in dungeons) tell me the Megaten teams still have some idea how make good dungeons.

Persona 3 Portable

Persona 3 is a flawed game, but the Portable entry help it a lot thanks to the Persona 4 changes in the battle system and the addition to the female character. Seriously, it was to difficult to have a genki girl since the start eh?

Anyway, I don't recommend Portable as the first Persona 3 experience... but it's without doubts the definitive one.
--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Chrono Trigger
Etrian Odyssey IV
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Final Fantasy X
Dragon Quest 4
Trails in the Sky FC
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Shin Megami Tensei: IV Apocalypse
Persona 3 Portable
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers
Dragon Quest 2
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
Final Fantasy X-2
Odin Sphere
The World Ends With You
Tales of the Abyss
Demon's Souls
Etrian Odyssey Untold 2
Shin Megami Tensei II
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Aters · Jul 9, 2018

Curious to see where Persona 5 and Nier Automata will land. They are the two new heavy hitters since last time.

kswiston · Jul 9, 2018

PhazonBlonde said:
So to qualify for the raffle we need 5 write ups at least? I'll have to get on that for my top 10 then

Yes, minimum of 5 write-ups. I want to encourage the people who put in effort. They don't have to be particularly long write ups though.

Aters said:
Curious to see where Persona 5 and Nier Automata will land. They are the two new heavy hitters since last time.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 seems to be getting a lot of votes so far.

jblanco · Jul 9, 2018

1. Suikoden II (Highlight vote) - Can you make a great JRPG better? Yes, you certainly can. Suikoden II was a glorious step forward for the series. With more characters, more drama, more politics, and more everything, Suikoden II pushed the formula to greater heights.

But Suikoden II's experience is magnified if you have played the first one, since it's filled with returning characters and throwbacks to the first game. It really helps build a cohesive world between both games.

There's two special things I want to mention about this game.

Sprites, backgrounds, animations, and tilesets all look beautiful. You can clearly see an improvement in the visual department after Suikoden.
This game introduces one of the best villains in JRPGs: Luca Blight. A merciless madman. The fight to bring him down is very well done, very tense, and very epic. Superb job, Konami.

Bonus: Mcdohl is (optionally) back and the war system is expanded a lot on this game.

2. Final Fantasy XI- This is my favorite game of all time, even though it can no longer be. I guess I should instead say: This game gave me my favorite gaming experiences of all time. Let me start by saying that objectively, this game has a lot of design flaws. A lot. It was an unnecessarily punishing, grindfest, time-consuming game. It's an MMO after all, so a lot of those flaws were conscious decisions to force the players to spend more time in the game.

There were some serious side-effects to that. This is the hardest Final Fantasy game, and by far. It's (or used to be) way too technical. You had to really know the game if you wanted to enjoy it. And just learning about the game took ages. So what made me love this game so much?

The world is huge. The largest explore-able areas in any FF yet. Yes, this was probably done so it took the player a long time to traverse between areas. But the areas were very nicely done. Due to the time spent on each area, you eventually appreciate its details. How none of it was randomly-generated. How each area has its own very clearly defined atmosphere, flora, and fauna,...and secrets! It was an accomplishment filled with excitement when you got to a new area. But it was also scary, since a lot of the times, new areas meant new, and more powerful enemies. Hiding from enemies was a thing in this game. A big deal. I'll never forget the one time I was on a boat, from the town of Selbina to Mhaura, a boat ride I've taken plenty of times before, but this time we were attacked by pirates. We were obliterated, but instead of being angry, I was happily surprised. They really gave life to Vana'Diel (the game's world). Oh, you found a cave? Cool, go inside, and surprise! It's a whole bigass dungeon that you are free to explore.
Teamwork. Nothing could be accomplished in this game without a party. For better or worse, this forced all players to socialize and to truly learn their party roles. This game made sure you would not win if you didn't know what you were doing. Of course, as it happens with anything in life, sometimes there's a lot of team chemistry, and from there real friendships are born. I made some great friends in this game, and that's something I'll never forget. And you know, enduring pain and finally overcoming the daunting challenges this game provided brought an extreme sense of accomplishment that is hard to replicate nowadays.
Story and lore. A big world also means there's a lot to say about it. Being a Final Fantasy fan, I really appreciated how a lot of things had backstories. And how there were many side-stories. And yes, there was also a main storyline that was great! The original campaign is a bit too basic, but the expansions are where the plot department really shines. There's just so much know and learn about this game, it can be overwhelming for some.
Gameplay. Yes, the game felt clunky at times, and it hasn't aged that well, but battles were really something. Definitely not a spamfest, or something you could play while distracted. I love how you really really had to get to know your job, and how you had to communicate with your team. Positioning, skillchains, magic bursts, stun rotations, SATA, pulls, etc. Challening and technical, but very rewarding.
Music. In a game where you spend a lot of time playing, you certainly need a good soundtrack to go alongside it. Besides a few songs that can get a bit annoying (those damn San d'Orian trumpets used to drive my mom crazy), the OST is great and I often listen to it to relax, concentrate, get inspired, or even get hyped.

I've spent so much time on this game, it's probably not healthy. But I don't care. It was totally worth it. The most immersive Final Fantasy ever. The game has changed a lot now, and while it's way more accessible, it has lost, in my opinion, a lot of its charm. It's perfectly understandable though, no one has time for a game like this anymore, not even me. Also, a gameplay fully depending on parties when there are not as much players just wouldn't work anymore.

Bonus: The job system we all know and love from the series, is back, and better than ever. Each jobs plays differently and can completely change your experience of the game.

3. Breath of Fire III - This game takes its time in delivering its greatest moments. It revisits a lot of plot points way later after you first encounter them. You first see things as a child, then in the second arc of the game, you start seeings things as a man. The game's atmosphere and story reflects the change too. IMO, this is further evidenced by the world map's themes. It goes from Casually's playful tone to To A Distant Place's calmer, more reflexive tone.

This is why I love this game. It carefully creates a great build-up to a lot of great moments. The reunion with

Rei

, and the fight against

Teepo

were very emotionally powerful scenes. Both were very bittersweet, and greatly handled nostalgia.

And I guess that's how I would describe the game's second arc: Nostalgia. Days as a child are over, even though you reminiscence constantly as you revisit areas and bump into old friends. Shit's all serious now: we'll kill the

Goddess

if we have to. And I guess the way the game presents all these changes really resonated with me, since I played this game while growing up.

Also, the final part of the game really nailed the venturing into the unknown feeling. You really start feeling lonelier and lonelier, and since it's a whole new continent you knew nothing about even since when you were a child, it certainly feels foreign.

Bonus: Dragon transformations are badass, and

Rei's Weretiger

transformation is even more badass.

4. Final Fantasy XII - This game has aged like a damn fine wine. This game is ambitious. There's an incredible amount of side content, and not about grinding, but actual optional bosses, espers, side-quests, and even entire areas. While its plot's resolution doesn't land very well, the storytelling and characters in this entry are miles ahead of XIII and XV (of course, sans Van and Penelo ). Also, this is the single-player FF with the most lore and world-building. Everything and everywhere has a story, and a why. What this game excels at though, is the following:

Exploration: Areas are vast and open, but segmented (not an open world). This gives room for a big variety of environments.
The feeling of journey: The meat of this game is going from A to B. But there is no way to fast-forward or skip, or world-map from place to place. You have to trek. It may not sound appealing but it really adds to the immersion and makes you appreciate the journey like not many RPGs do.
Systems. This game is the holy grail for those who love systems. From Gambits (basic AI you can configure for your party members) to weirdly specific dmg formulas and enemy spawning mechanics. There's so much variety on how you can play this game that the metagame (is that the right word?) becomes really engaging by itself.

Bonus: The Zodiac Age version makes this game way more enjoyable due to the great remastered graphics and soundtrack, as well as the fast forward. Yeah, needing fast forward kinda means the game design is broken, but...it really works!

5. Suikoden - My username on the old forum and on most MMO's I've played is an homage to the main character of this game: Tir Mcdohl. A great character, that even though silent, is very well developed thanks to the main storyline. But he's just one character in a game filled with over a hundred characters!

Knowing little of what RPGs even where, the fact that there were so many characters was what drew me into this game. Luckily, I was not disappointed. Not only were there a lot of characters, but you could use a lot of them in battle, while others provided services and/or mini-games in your own headquarters, which by the way were another awesome feature from this game.

Suikoden is an incredible game that makes basic politics fun. And of course, there can't be politics without drama, pretty emotional drama

(you go to war against your own father!)

. In retrospective, I guess the Suikoden series is the Game of Thrones of JRPGs.

Being one of my first RPGs ever, filled with lots of memorable characters and mechanics, and intriguing / dramatic storyline, Suikoden will always harbor a special place in my heart.

Bonus: This game has three battle systems. Regular battles with 6 member parties, 1 on 1 rock-paper-scissors style duels, and epic wars. Also, Suikoden inspired a lot of mechanics in my RPG Maker games (not fangames, but almost! ).

6. Dark Souls - This game can be dismissed by some due to its difficulty. I dismissed it once, because I found it too unforgiving for my time. I am so glad I gave it a second chance, because it was an addictive experience. Once you git gud this game becomes a thousandfold more enjoyable. You start identifying patterns, and become more resilient to new threats. You also start wandering with care, and that's when you understand that the game is not unfair, it just wants you to observe and be patient. Traps and enemy placements aren't cheap, they can be avoided or dealt with properly. And yeah, many times, dying is learning, just like the good ol' days. Once you master it and gain an addiction to the adrenaline this game induces through its boss battles, or by the fear of dying any moment you make a mistake, this game becomes immensely enjoyable, and contrary to popular belief, NOT masochist

Visual design in this game is beautiful. From crazy locales to nightmare fuel inducing monsters, this game has a very strong and consistent identity from beginning to end. It also has a cryptic lore that leaves a lot to interpretation, leading to a great community online of people trying to decipher it. But it's well balanced, it's never too cryptic. It provides enough to spark your curiosity and leave room for you to connect the dots.

But what this game really excels at is at game design. Its world is so well crafted (sans the rushed areas like Izalith, dafuq was that), that once it "clicks" on you it's almost enlightening. Enemy placement, bosses, etc. as well.

Bonus: The whole Anor Londo area and bosses... man... you just can't repeat that first time experience. I'm jealous of those who have yet to experience it.

7. Shin Megami Tensei IV - How can a game with first-person battles, bare-bones dungeons, and an atrociously designed world map have so much personality? Atmosphere. This game oozes atmosphere. Shin Megami Tensei IV is a game that really puts the resources it has to great use (ok, except the maze-like world map).

This game can be challenging from the very beginning with some intense battles, which is often rare in turn based combat. Those battles are accompanied with some kickass demon designs. I love how there are some pretty surreal / otherworldly ones. It really pushes the limits at times. I've heard complaints about the angels, but that's what I love about them. And I really dig that, specially on a genre that keeps rehashing monster ideas / designs. The same can be said about the soundtrack, which is pretty unique. I really like it, and in a way, it blew my mind. It's a sound that you don't commonly hear in JRPGs. And it works, it really helps create the unique atmosphere this game has.

The game has a crazy-ass convoluted plot though, but it works well enough to keep you motivated to find out what's next.

Bonus: Listening to Tokyo Overworld Theme is an obsession of mine.

8. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Ew, what is this western mainstream AAA piece of garbage doing in my list? Well, turns out, I actually love it. First let me get some things out of the way: Yes, some things can be clunky, and the story was forgettable. But the world is beautiful, and the exploration, while it may feel repetitive to some, it certainly felt very rewarding to me.

I tend to not click with Western RPGs (I'm also biased), but TES grabbed me with Oblivion. And it's all about the exploration, the openness, and the freedom which Skyrim improved. It's the sandbox approach to RPGs what Bethesda does really well. And that's what I love.

But what makes Skyrim stand out? Its classic sword & sorcery & dragons theme combined with the northern locale with viking-like population is certainly part of the appeal, but what Skyrim (and Bethesda RPGs) really nail is the immersion. Countless times did I lose track of time while playing this game, staying up late..."one more dungeon..." To put it simply: this game is really fun role-play in a great fantasy world sandbox, a fantasy world simulator. And I fucking love that.

Bonus: Quick Saving before FUS RO DAHing the fuck out of NPCs never gets old.

9. Final Fantasy VI - This is kind of where Final Fantasy got serious. This game's story is by no means silly, and all (at least most) of its dramatic sequences are perfectly justifiable. This game is the ultimate 2D Final Fantasy, and to many, the best title in the series.

First of all, this game still looks gorgeous. The steampunk theme worked surprisingly well alongside classic Final Fantasy themes. Character and monster design are both Square in its prime. This time the soundtrack has way more complex pieces, such as the one that plays in the Opera scene or the final boss, compared to what the series had seen before. You can tell Uematsu was very inspired here, as if they told him: "There are no limits. Let your creative juices flow nonstop."

The fresh storytelling approach it took is also something worth noting. The game switched the MC depending on who was more relevant to the moment story-wise. It really boosted how I felt in a lot scenes since the game put you in the shoes of whichever character the plot was focusing on. The best example is Celes' sequence at the beginning of the second arc. But what really makes this game stands apart are three things.

Kefka is a great antagonist. A lunatic whose madness drove him to demi-godhood. He committed a ton of atrocities that broke many characters...all while maintaining a comedic tone. But his defining act was

bringing the entire world to ruin

. If you think about it, even after you beat the game, no one can revert that act.
Further elaborating on how not even killing the final boss can change the fact that the

world was destroyed

, I love how this game, maybe unintentionally, is so far from the cliché. In a way, the heroes of this game failed. They're not perfect after all, and that felt very true to me. They're not superheroes, they're just a bunch of cool guys trying to make the world a better place. In a genre filled with chosen ones, this was a very welcoming change. The fact that there is no one main character backs up this notion. At least this is how I felt about it, whether it was intentional or not.
The tonal shift in the game. While I have already talked about this in Breath of Fire III (game being divided into being child and adult, like Ocarine of Time), it is executed very differently in this game. The first half of the game feels like a great, but normal, JRPG with a ton of great scenes. But once you get to the second arc, where everything is in

ruins

, you realize it's different this time. But even with all the grimness and hopelessness, it's really inspiring to see the failed heroes gang back up and bring an end to

Kefka

's world domination. But it's not just the characters who have to recover hope, you, as the player too, since the game's difficulty spikes up starting the second arc.

I really love this game. It's a very well-crafted and well-thought experience. A masterpiece even after all the years. And I say this having played this game after the PS-era FFs.

Bonus: The final battle in this game is on of the most epic moments I've experienced in gaming, including the dialogue right before it. And it features a fittingly epic (and long) song: Dancing Mad.

10. Final Fantasy VII - My second RPG ever, and the RPG that got me into RPGs. I've read that this is true for a lot of gamers. FF7 is the gateway drug. Before I even start talking about this game, I want to make something clear: This is, in my opinion, the classic (pre XI) Final Fantasy with the best gameplay. Great execution of the ATB, cool stuff like limit breaks and badass summons, and most importantly: Materia.

Now, what is so great about this game? Why is it the most famous title in a long standing series? It's just too cool. Everything is over-the-top in this game. From Cloud's gigantic Buster Sword, to a motorcycle sequence, to not having one but three types of Bahamuts, to having attacks with two-minute long animations (Sephiroth's Supernova), to gigantic bosses called Weapons, to a gigantic cannon powered by the Earth itself, to Omnislash, to FMVs, to cross-dressing, to snowboarding, to Vincent transforming into monsters, to The Turks, to kickass FMVs, etc. Seriously, everything is just executed in such a cool and over the top fashion that it blew my mind back then. This game is proud to be like that, and lots of us, including myself, love it for that.

But coolness is not enough, the plot is actually very interesting and not that hard to follow (ok, some things are unnecessarily complicated, but the overall plot is easy to follow). Characters are very like-able and well-developed, in this case by delving a lot into their pasts. I also appreciate how unfiltered they are. Barret and Cid curse a lot, something the series hasn't seen since then. Sephiroth is a great villain that starts as a mysterious, but threatening foe. And then he the becomes the ultimate douchebag by

killing your gf

. But not everything is drama, there's also some very fun moments like the Honey Bee Inn scene and minigames in the Gold Saucer.

Music is top notch this time as well, with some legendary songs such as Aerith's Theme and One Winged Angel (a fucking classic). FMVs were a beautiful addition to the game that while they may not have aged well, they made FF7 even cooler back then.

I give up. It's so hard to organize my thoughts for this game. There's so much to talk about it. It's just way too awesome, and way too memorable. I'm a kid again whenever I talk about this game. I feel like this is the game where Sakaguchi just let it all out, no filters, he just went for it.

One last thing I want to say about this game: Exiting Midgar and realizing it was just a small part of the world and that your journey is just starting was a feeling I don't think I've felt ever since. This game was truly mind-blowing and had a scale, still to this day, of epic proportions.

Bonus: In case magic, summons, ultimate weapons, and whatnot are not enough to visually please you, then keep an eye out for Limit Breaks.

--VOTE INFO START—
<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Suikoden II
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Final Fantasy XI
Breath of Fire III
Final Fantasy XII
Suikoden
Dark Souls
Shin Megami Tensei IV
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Bloodborne
Breath of Fire IV
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Earthbound
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy X
Golden Sun
Kingdom Hearts
Persona 4: Golden
Radiant Historia
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

leafcutter · Jul 9, 2018

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Dark Souls
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Fallout: New Vegas
Mass Effect
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Dark Souls III
Diablo II
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Bloodborne
Chrono Trigger
World of Warcraft
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy VII
Xenogears
Demon's Souls
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Divinity: Original Sin
Diablo III
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Mass Effect II
Icewind Dale II
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

PhazonBlonde · Jul 9, 2018

kswiston said:
Yes, minimum of 5 write-ups. I want to encourage the people who put in effort. They don't have to be particularly long write ups though.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 seems to be getting a lot of votes so far.

Got it chief!o7 Working on my writeups now, I'll just edit them into my post

Sirank · Jul 9, 2018

I'll give it a shot! Top 5 and the rest in no particular order.

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2. Mass Effect
3. Divinity: Original Sin 2
4. Dragon's Dogma
5. Fallout 3

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Mass Effect
Dragon's Dogma
Fallout 3
Dishonored
Dragon Age: Origins
Dark Souls
Terraria
Earthbound
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Fallout New Vegas
Secret Of Mana
Chrono Trigger
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Fable
Final Fantasy XII
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

decoyplatypus · Jul 9, 2018

Oh wow, I've been so out of it I didn't even see the thread go up. Thanks, RPG Community folks, for all the work you've put in already!

I'll try to get my ballot up in the next few days.

PhazonBlonde · Jul 9, 2018

Working on editing my post now. Got 6 of the 11 posts done. If anyone wants me to make a quick banner for them, let me know! I had fun making the ones I did :) You're also free to use the ones I made in my post

MoonFrog · Jul 9, 2018

jblanco said:
Listening to Tokyo Overworld Theme is an obsession of mine.

Yeah, I love that one.

Still have to play Suikoden at some point. Also plan to get around to BoFIII at some point, it sounds attractive.

Fantomas said:
The greatest SRPG of all time in my opinion, Shining Force 2 is another amazing Sega Genesis RPG. Combining traditional strategic turn-based battles that one might be familiar with from games like Fire Emblem with the traditional overworld map and town exploration seen in Final Fantasy games, Shining Force 2 is an epic adventure of a game. Dozens of playable characters make it a joy to replay as well since there are hundreds of different team compositions one could put together. I've always been a fan of these kinds of turn-based strategy RPGs, but unfortunately there are so few of them that combine those battles with the traditional kind of gameplay one would expect from the console RPGs of that era, or any era really. That's why I think Shining Force 2 is a must-play RPG because although it does fall under the SRPG sub-genre there is a lot more to it than just the battles and the cutscenes and I think people would really appreciate it still for what it does if they gave it a shot today.

Hmmmm, I've still got some Fire Emblems I want to get to and Tactics Ogre, but reading about this game a couple times in here makes it apparent I should look into it too.

PhazonBlonde said:
Working on editing my post now. Got 6 of the 11 posts done. If anyone wants me to make a quick banner for them, let me know! I had fun making the ones I did :) You're also free to use the ones I made in my post

They look nice :).

Escaflow · Jul 10, 2018

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

I don't care what people said about how bad is the junction/draw system , how the story/character isn't as good FF7 , to me FFVIII is one of the best JRPG ever made .

Why , because FFVIII is the perfect interpretation of "This is a fantasy based on reality" . From the dancing scene accompanied with "Waltz of the Moon" , chilling in Balamb Garden , fighting T-rex in Balamb training center to watching the fireworks as the end of graduation ceremony , discovering Diablos from the dark lantern , Dollet's assassination scene , Balamb crashing with Galbadia , triple triad , gunblade trigger , Limit Break , Laguna memories , defeating Edea , discovering Esthar , launching towards the moon and retrieving Ragnarok , the Eyes on Me scenes , farming lvl 100 monsters in Island Closest to Hell , and finally Ultimecia's Castle .

I've finished this game for almost 10 times from the past , and still able to pick any scenario from my memory easily . This is the nostalgia I will forever remember , this is my perfection .

</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Persona 5 - Just look at my avatar . My favorite cast of all Persona , MC is extremely cool followed by an amazing cast of Makoto , Sae , Takemi , Futaba , Akechi , and so on . Despite the complains of the dungeons , I like it so much and my 100 hours of playthrough felt short to be honest . I just don't want it to end .

Nier Automata - another entry from 2017. Classic Platinum gameplay , great story by Yoko Taro , amazing melancholic soundtracks I'm listening till now , and one of the greatest voicing acting performance I've ever heard in any media by 9S VA (Japanese Dub)

<description later>
Shadows Hearts Covenant
Witcher 3
Final Fantasy X
Divinity Original Sin 2
Diablo 2
Bloodborne
Dark Souls
Tales of Vesperia

</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

--VOTE INFO END--

MoonFrog · Jul 10, 2018

Escaflow Keep the ballot stub separate from your justifications: the parser will be reading the stubs for titles.

So do something like

Final Fantasy VIII-*insert what you wrote*
Persona 5-*insert what you wrote*
....
....
and then the ballot form with just the titles inserted where the form says title 1, 2, 3, etc.

Calliope · Jul 10, 2018

Nice to see this thread make a return! Hmm I'm going to have to think on mine for a bit. Last time I participated in this thread years back on the old place my definition of RPG was more narrow so it'll be fun to add some new favorites to my rankings.

Quinton said:
03. Final Fantasy 7
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was sixth grade, and the guy who would soon start supplying me with those floppy disks full of RPGs was wearing a Cloud Strife shirt on a Friday. It was the end of the school week, and I couldn't wait to come home and rewatch the most recent episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. DS9 was all I wanted to think about, all I wanted to talk about, but there was something about that oversized sword and spiky blond hair that just spoke to me. So I said, "hey, Eddie, what's the deal with that punk on your tee?" And he looked at me and said, "see the eyes? They're mako blue. This is Cloud the fuck Strife," he cheered, in that way that sixth-graders who think they're cool enough for unnecessary profanity will dictate. I thought Eddie was cool as hell for it, too. I still do. Eddie convinced me to buy a Sony PlayStation with my grass-mowing money, so that I could experience Cloud the fuck Strife for mine own. Deep Space Nine had to take a backseat for a while, because I'd discovered what it means to love gaming. Sure, I'd played Sonic the Hedgehog. Eternal Champions. ESWAT. Even a little Mortal Kombat. But Final Fantasy 7 is Final Fantasy 7. The world is grim, the skies are dark, the steampunk-meets-90s-Japan-meets-everything-else-on-earth is almost as charming as the ridiculous script. The characters are either mature or they aren't, they're either deep or they're funny (or sometimes both), they're either so profane that sixth-grade Eddie and I blanched or they're softer-spoken and ill-fated. The story pairs sweeping stakes with real and brutal consequences. Every victory is hard-fought for the hardscrabble members of AVALANCHE. The gameplay offers plenty of minigames to break things up from the battle system, which -- thanks to materia and flashy limit breaks -- is pretty good too. There's a moment in every 90s JRPG initiate's life, I think, where we stepped out onto a world map and were floored by the scale of it all. Final Fantasy 7 took its sweet time getting me there, and when I got there I dropped my controller onto my chair and my 11-year-old jaw just gaped in awe. It helps that Nobuo Uematsu's world map theme sweeps over us simultaneously. And it cements this game as one of the best experiences my 30 years have had when that self-same theme sweeps over me again at a climactic moment late in the storyline of Cloud the fuck Strife, whose struggles with identity are almost as cool as...

"This is Cloud the fuck Strife" is the best thing I've ever read on this site. I will forevermore refer to him that way. Really enjoyed your write-ups. :)

Quinton · Jul 10, 2018

Calliope said:
Nice to see this thread make a return! Hmm I'm going to have to think on mine for a bit. Last time I participated in this thread years back on the old place my definition of RPG was more narrow so it'll be fun to add some new favorites to my rankings.

"This is Cloud the fuck Strife" is the best thing I've ever read on this site. I will forevermore refer to him that way. Really enjoyed your write-ups. :)

!!!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed them! I look forward to reading yours too.

panda-zebra · Jul 10, 2018

SFIII the best £4.99 I ever spent. Original Disgaea was a day #1 punt that blew my mind with the silly story & game depth.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Shining Force III
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Disgaea
Final Fantasy Tactics
Suikoden
Final Fantasy X
Evolution: The World of Sacred Device
Wild Arms 3
Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome
La Pucelle Tactics
Suikoden Tactics
Phantom Brave
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

--VOTE INFO END--

QFNS · Jul 10, 2018

Quinton said:
amazing post, but that text color...

Great post, just wanted to let you know this is almost unreadable in the Dark Theme with Black Text. Some great stuff in there that I wouldn't want others to miss.

Carthago Delenda Est · Jul 10, 2018

World of Warcraft - This RPG is not the best for its story or its gameplay. It's the best for its sense of community. There are few games that I feel like I will always, until my end of days, look back upon fondly. None of the other games on my list will meet that test. But WoW offered something entirely different and unlike anything else. It is an experience locked in time that I can never, ever go back to, and perhaps that is part of what makes it so special. World of Warcraft is the best game I've ever played because of the people I played it with. No other game will ever top that.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
World of Warcraft
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Dark Souls
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Path of Exile
Dragon Age II
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

--VOTE INFO END--

Quinton · Jul 10, 2018

QFNS said:
Great post, just wanted to let you know this is almost unreadable in the Dark Theme with Black Text. Some great stuff in there that I wouldn't want others to miss.

Oof, duly noted. Is it the colors that I used for the games I listed? I presume so, right? I can make them all black text instead. And thanks!

QFNS · Jul 10, 2018

Quinton said:
Oof, duly noted. Is it the colors that I used for the games I listed? I presume so, right? I can make them all black text instead. And thanks!

Np, it was a great read. The colors for the game titles show up fine. Its just the black text that is hard to read.

Deleted member 8860 · Jul 10, 2018

Quinton said:
Oof, duly noted. Is it the colors that I used for the games I listed? I presume so, right? I can make them all black text instead. And thanks!

The problem is the black text. Don't color it, let Era automatically set it.

sauce · Jul 10, 2018

~~I'm just copy pasting my last vote.~~

It's unfortunate that I haven't gotten to the RPGs that are festering in my Steam backlog yet (e.g. Final Fantasy VIII, Shadowrun Dragonfall, Dragon's Dogma, etc.), otherwise I could pretend that this list was a little more balanced.

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (highlight) - This has to be my absolute favorite RPG. The combat system is a sort of crazy, addictive poker. You get bonuses to your attacks, defense, or healing by making straights, having pairs, attacking or defending with the opposing attribute, so on and so forth. As you progress, the time you have to make these hands gets shorter and shorter, so you have to make quick decisions on whether to continue your hand or give up lest you waste the bonus you could get if you stick with what you already have out. The music and environments are beautiful, and the story is engaging. It's worth the play. My only recommendation is to maybe switch off the voices in the menu. On the other hand, I did play with them on, and the hammy voice acting is still something I'm kind of fond of. Your mileage may vary.

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga - I'm voting for this for the press turn system, essentially. It's really satisfying to be rewarded for exploiting enemies' weaknesses with the opportunity to perform extra actions in a turn. Likewise, it's devastating when enemies do that to your party. That's all wrapped up in an intriguing story with Hindu motif. I think the game is definitely something to try out when you're tired of the whole "hero goes off with his friend to defeat the big bad who burnt down his town" shtick.

Valkyria Chronicles - Ever wonder what anime World War II would be like? Look no further. To be honest, my expectations were pretty low when I first heard the premise, but the story easily exceeded them. It alone could've kept me engaged, if the gameplay itself weren't so compelling. Keeping cover and trying to go undiscovered in enemy territory, or just going in guns blazing and hoping you don't die in the crossfire (and inevitably reloading because of course I don't want any of my units to be permadead). I kept telling myself, "just one more mission". It's a damn good game.

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness - Another SRPG to follow up Valkyria. The game is built around lighthearted humor, from the cast to the mechanics. It's fun to literally toss around anyone on the battle field, to bargain with the senators over better items in the store or more maps and just beat them up if they vote you down. For me, the cast is this game's strength. Hilarious, but with personal struggles that make you sympathize and root for them. There's so much to do beyond the main story, if you're interested in stat building. The rabbit hole of the item world is bottomless. Can't go wrong with trying this one.

Ys I - This is my personal favorite out of the Ys series. There's just something that feels good about stabbing people by literally bumping your character into them. It's so simple, and yet somehow it's still tough as fucking nails. That's the beauty of the Ys series in general. Even if the story isn't the most memorable thing in the world, you remember triumphing over that fucking bat boss. Also Feena best Ys girl, don't let anyone tell you different.

Undertale - There's probably not much I could say about this game that hasn't been said already. It's charming, comfortable (until it's not), bizarre, and just fun. The battle system is entirely genius, and unexpectedly difficult. Out of all the games on this list, I think it gives you the most freedom and control over the overall narrative. The juggernaut of its word of mouth exists for a reason.

Pillars of Eternity - I've only ever played one CRPG so far, and this is it. I may not know better, but I do think it's a great introduction to the genre. There's a lot of freedom in how you can approach quests, and quite often you can entirely bypass combat with just the right words. It's something that's missing in a lot of Japanese RPGs, so it's something I really enjoyed and appreciated. The classes of characters you can play as or recruit are really different from one another, and there's a lot of variety to be had in builds. On this whole list, PoE's the one that gives you the most mechanic and narrative freedom (that is, outside of the overall narrative anyway; that's pretty set in stone).

Tales of Phantasia - This pretty much goes for the older Tales games in general, of which I think Phantasia is the most representative (I might've swapped it out for Destiny if I had actually beaten it though). It's the standard journey across the world with a lighthearted cast. It's the whole "hero goes off with his friend to defeat the big bad who burnt down his town" shtick that I made fun of earlier. It's the comfort food of RPGs. Maybe that doesn't really sell it well, but sometimes, you just crave that simplicity.

Final Fantasy VII - I played this for the first time around three years ago. After beating it, I got the same feeling I did when I finished Ocarina of Time, which I also played for the first time well after release. It's the awareness that if I had played it on day 1, I would've been swept up in the GOAT hype like everyone else was. A kind of weird nostalgia, almost. After playing it, I understood why Final Fantasy games were so hyped up. My mind probably would've been blow away by graphics if it were still 1998. The game still holds up, beyond that. Play it for the history.

Kingdom Hearts - For some bizarre reason, a crossover between Final Fantasy and Disney, of all things, just works. The story is steeped in mystery, and that desire to figure out what's going on propels you forward. In this regard, the first game is thankfully rather simple, whereas the sequels (the ones I bothered playing anyway) seem to lose the plot at some point or another. It's nice, but also odd, to be able to explore all those worlds you only got to see in movies, even if they are rather empty on the whole. The battle system is pretty neat, where you menu on the fly while you mash out your combos, magic, and unison attacks like summons. It probably has the most compelling tutorial section I've seen in a RPG so far. It wouldn't hurt to check it out.

Baten Kaitos: Origin (HM) - Basically improved on a majority of things from the first game, but I still like the first better for whatever reason.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (HM) - I haven't played the original Tactics, and I know people who have say this is inferior in every way. Still, I really enjoyed the scenario.

Golden Sun (HM) - The battle system is pretty neat, and the plot is pretty cool. Unfortunately, the writing is somewhat garbage.

Tales of Symphonia (HM) - Story's a bit juvenile, but the battle system is fun and lays down the groundwork for the future games.

Tales of Legendia (HM) - Everyone hates this game, but it's my second favorite RPG behind Baten Kaitos.

Stardew Valley (HM) - Probably should get a spot on the normal ballot, but I wouldn't know which one to kick off for it. It's digital crack.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (HM) - Honestly, this should be on the normal ballot too, but I figure other people have it covered. Really a one of a kind experience in the way you interact with its world.

Ys: Oath in Felghana (HM) - The soundtrack's amazing, the story is decent for what it is (which is effectively irrelevant), and the bosses are tough as fuck. As expected from Falcom.

Recettear (HM) - Capitalism, ho!

Radiant Historia (HM) - For when you want to channel your inner time traveler but still be on rails in a linear experience.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Valkyria Chronicles
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Ys I
Undertale
Pillars of Eternity
Tales of Phantasia
Final Fantasy VII
Kingdom Hearts
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Baten Kaitos: Origin
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Golden Sun
Tales of Symphonia
Tales of Legendia
Stardew Valley
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Ys: Oath in Felghana
Recettear
Radiant Historia
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Quinton · Jul 10, 2018

QFNS said:
Np, it was a great read. The colors for the game titles show up fine. Its just the black text that is hard to read.

emag said:
The problem is the black text. Don't color it, let Era automatically set it.

Ah, gotcha. Thank you.

francium87 · Jul 10, 2018

I can tolerate mediocre game play if the story and characters are great. With the exception of the two SRPGs (FFT, and Legends of Cao Cao), my list are filled with games that aren't spectacular in the combat department. But their tone, world-building, characters are so memorable.

A quick explanation for games towards the end of my list:

(Lu Bu panicking)
Sangokushi SouSou Den is a turn based strategy game made by KOEI, with a pretty nice look at Cao Cao's career, branching paths, and a unique equipment leveling system that gives characters a lot of personality (for instance, Guan Yu's blade is famously heavy, so the extra skill attached is opponent can't counterattack.)

(Fūrinkazan!)
Taikō Risshiden V is the last installment of KOEI's RPG series set in the Japanese Sengoku period. The game features a card-based skill and achievement systems that unlocks new characters to play as, hex-based combat, and a frozen synapse-like duel system. Lots of historic events to trigger, lots of minigames.

(in "shangri-la", the environment art style changes to traditional ink and wash painting, evoking that feeling this truly is not the ordinary world)
Xuan-Yuan Sword 3: the Scar of the Sky, arguably the height of Chinese RPGs. You play as a 16-year old descendant of displaced royalty, reluctantly burdened with gathering divine instruments to aid the revolution cause. First half of the game is beautiful slightly-before-Tang dynasty scenery, and the second half is mostly mythological, including some of the most astonishing 2d work ever. As the gaiden of the 3 entry in the series, it also manages to expand the universe, while paying homage to earlier games in winks and nods.

(your goofy jock buddy, you, and, um, an angel)
Tun Town was sort of a tech demo the devs of XYS3 made prior to the more ambitious titles, just to mature the engine. The game itself is quite unique. It is set in a simple innocent farming town, where the main character has to investigate why street dogs are losing in a turf war to the cats. This then devolves into wacky hijinks and a corporation conspiracy. The game is designed so that failure in combat just kicks the player out, with no game over screens. This plus cutesy characters (one of the skills is to call in a sparrow you previously helped to attack. Later on it is upgraded to calling in the whole family of sparrows) intuitive item searching and crafting, makes an excellent "my first RPG" (I finished it again in college, no regrets)

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Mass Effect
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Planescape: Torment
Dragon Age: Origins
Mass Effect 2
Final Fantasy Tactics
Persona 5
Taikō Risshiden V
Sangokushi SouSou Den
Xuan-Yuan Sword 3: the Scar of the Sky
Tun Town
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
World of Warcraft
Deus Ex
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Final Fantasy VI
Chrono Trigger
Fallout 2
Pokemon Gold/Silver
Valkyria Chronicles
Tales of Wuxia
Lost Odyssey
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Aleh · Jul 10, 2018

This thread really makes me wish I had more time to play more RPGs, since they're my favorite genre.

Highlight Vote: Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy IX isn't just the best RPG ever made, and it isn't just the best game ever made. It's the story that has impacted me the most, it's an unforgettable journey where you grow together with characters that will leave an everlasting mark on who you are. I don't think this game has any flaw, and all I could want is simply more of it. The art style is sublime, the locations are memorable, the music can convey an incredibly wide range of emotions, and to this day it has one of the most unique systems I've ever seen in a game, called Active Time Events, that allow you to see what's going on with characters that aren't currently in your party, which further improves their characterization. It is filled with content to the brim, and rewards exploration and curiosity. The visuals absolutely hold up to this day. Without voice acting and with amazing writing, it feels like a book that has come to life. I could go on and on talking about why I love it, but it'll be even better to find out yourself.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2:
This might be the game with the most beautiful locations and soundtrack of all time for me, add to that a great cast of characters and story, and you can see why it's in this list. It has a great sense of humor and a lot of charm, on top of being very lengthy and engaging.

Pokémon Gold & Silver:
Back when it was released this represented everything you could possibly want from a sequel, and it still holds up absurdly well today even without taking into account the excellent remake. It is probably the most memorable Pokémon game to date and that's why it holds this place in this list, but it's not even the best game in the series. The great thing about Pokémon is that each game has very different strengths, but this is a well rounded title in all aspects.

Xenoblade Chronicles:
I'm really feeling it! I'm still shocked this game came out of the Wii to be honest. Its scope and execution are top notch for the hardware and it shows. I love it for similar reasons to its sequel, but yet it feels different and unique all the same.

Final Fantasy X & VIII:
I can't quite decide which one I like best. They both have great stories, X's is executed better but VIII's is way more epic. One thing is certain though, these games both embody what I like about Final Fantasy: the gameplay (great turn based combat systems that differ from game to game) and the stories. And of course, the music.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Final Fantasy IX
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Pokémon Gold & Silver
Xenoblade Chronicles
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy VIII
Pokémon Sun & Moon
Pokémon Platinum
Pokémon Black & White
Final Fantasy VI
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Lucent Heart
Final Fantasy IV
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Rytheran · Jul 10, 2018

Highlight:

Asheron's Call: No classes, complete freedom to do whatever you wanted with your skill and stats. An original world that didn't lean on the tropes and a backstory that allowed them quite a lot of freedom with the story. An RPG that had truly wonderful random loot and further gave you the ability to alter every single aspect of that loot to further enhance it, be it by changing stats or the looks of the item. It received free monthly update for over a decade, changing up the game play itself, adding quests, moving stories forward and keeping the game fresh.

Full point games:

Baldur's Gate 2: What's to say that hasn't been said about this game? A brilliant world to explore, a well implented combat system, but what mostly kept me coming back over the years is actually the companions. Whether the first time or the tenth, it was always a joy to hear Minsc speak with such joy in his voice, or Korgan growl out about the glory of battle, or to listen to Viconia scathingly insult every single person in the party. I didn't move the story forward to hear my story - I moved it forward to hear theirs.

The Temple of Elemental Evil: This is a game you definitely do not play for the story, you come for the one thing it absolutely nailed: combat. I think D&D is extraordinarily convoluted, but ToEE made it play wonderfully (And also gave you an entire handbook for D&D built into the game, so you could look up what anything meant in a couple click.) It's also one of the best looking of the pre-rendered IE-esque games. And these days there's a wonderful mod that's now adding new feats, spells, classes and races.

Neverwinter Nights: The original campaign isn't very good, the lack of being able to control your companions is irritating... and then you discover multiplayer and you understand what they tried - and succeeded - at doing. And that's create a tool set for having amazing, evolving adventures online. You don't control your companions because your companions are other people. The original campaign isn't great because it's half there for you to open up in the tool set and learn how to do things. There are persistent worlds - essentially mini MMOs - that have been running for over a decade. They've completely changed how the game works, added their own spells, monsters, classes, races. They've created living worlds that players can literally shape via RP.

Menzoberranzan: I played this for the first time recently and was very surprised. The combat is honestly just kind of serviceable, but you can have a full party in a partially open world, it's fully voice acted and I really enjoyed the dungeons, which can have you navigating multiple levels to get to where you're going, doing puzzles and flying to get around obstacles. When you get to the city of Menzoberranzan it's actually similar to BG2, where you have a map with different sections of the city you can visit.

Ultima Underworld: Wonderfully atmospheric, the controls can feel a bit dated, but once you discover almost everything can be done via the mouse it's much more comfortable. It manages to make you feel claustrophobic and lost at the same time, in the maze of tunnels.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Asheron's Call
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Baldur's Gate 2
The Temple of Elemental Evil
Neverwinter Nights
Dragon Age Origins
Fallout: New Vegas
Menzoberranzan
Ultima Underworld
Mount and Blade: Warband
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Shadowrun Dragonfall
Arx Fatalis
Darklands
Serpent in the Staglands
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Paper Sorcerer
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Epilexia · Jul 10, 2018

In the last generation, the common sense of what I like to call like the gamer crowd tell me that this was the weakest generation for JRPGs, and still, some of my all time favorite JRPGs were released for Nintendo DS.

I don't have too much time to write about my picks in this list, so I will only highlight 'Infinite Space' by Himufi Kono.

A combat system not based in grinding, that is all about creating complex strategies looking for the weakness of the enemies.

A story with the ambition of a visual novel, including branching paths. For example, if there is a war, you can select what side you want to support. And depending on this, all the missions and stories will change. Sometimes, a same mission can change based on what army you decided to support. Instead of attacking in the mission, you need to defend this same attack.

There are tens of branching paths. And it includes two complete games. In the second one, you are the same character various years later, once he has reached the age of 18. And all your choices in the first part of the game as a kid will sculpt the events in this part. And in this second part the story will be impressed with much more mature subjects. You will not be a kid anymore. The idealism and all your dreams of the childhood will die. You will face the real life.

Plus like in 'Suikoden 2', you can recruit close to 100 characters. Each one with his different story. And each one altering the story or the events that can happen in the game.

Plus the graphics seen taken from a forgotten Sega Saturn unreleased JRPG, with a complex 3D engine for the combats, including charming low res textures.

And even to customize your ships, there is a puzzle system to optimize each part of the engine with a 'Tetris' inspired layout.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Infinite Space
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Shiren the Wanderer
King's Field II
Hylics
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne
Etrian Odyssey
Why Am I Dead At Sea
Fire Emblem Path of Radiance
Baroque
Mario & Luigi
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Suikoden 2
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Rengoku II: The Stairway to Heaven
Ambition of the Slimes
Skies of Arcadia: Legends
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Edgar · Jul 10, 2018

1. The Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt (Highlight vote)
Witcher 3 holds a special place in my heart, some of that had to do with real life stuff but most of it it just happened to be the perfect game at the perfect time. It reminded me why I like video games, it reminded me that I can be still amazed by games in general. It resonates with me a lot due to how it goes for narrative driven open world rather that system and mechanics driven one. It goes for immersion and contextualization over ease of use and instant feedback .You are doing quest because you want to know these peoples problems and hardships rather than getting new loot or xp. The worlds is the most lived in, organic world I have ever experienced , there is just that tangible feel of dirty , ugly and depressing all encompassing atmosphere that's not that easy to find. And the flora and fauna , the panoramic views and imagery of farms and villages reminds me of the place where I grew up. Witcher 3 is not perfect by any means and there are a lot of significant flaws and especially if you are more mechanics and system driver person. But what it does , it does on a such a level I have yet to encounter, it resonates with me on a basic level and that is why I consider it the best game this generation and one of the best game of all time.

2. Mass Effect
I never played ME on a console , I only got it once PC version got released and I knew nothing about the game or bioware at the time. Also I am not the biggest sci fi guy. But damn, what a ride .I was immediately hooked starting with menu music, the intro to Shepard and the mission of Eden Prime that started it all. I like this game so much. There's this sense of infinity worlds and universes and that humanities is just starting. I am one of those weirdos that liked uncharted , desolated planets . It gave me that sense of scope and negative space that is so much needed in rpgs. And the music just brings it all together. It is one of my favorite last gen games and my all time fav rpg.

600509-bioware-commander-shepard-garrus-vakarian-grunt-jack-mass-effect-mass-effect-mass-effect-2-mass-effect-3-miranda-lawson-pawe-olejniczak-thane-thane-krios-video-games-zaeed-massani.jpg

3. Mass Effect 2
The sequel took different direction and while i was not the biggest fan of some choices, you can't deny the quality just oozing from every corner. It's darker, edgier and sexier. But it still contains some of the heart of the first one. And you still get that scope . And the last couple hours are just so well done and adrenaline inducing that even to this day i remember Shepards speech and holding the line .

4. Skyrim
I am a fan of TES games . I liked Oblivion a lot. Skyrim while not as good , it has a different feel that I can definitely appreciate. The sense of loneliness and solitude exploring skyrims icy mountains is one of a kind. The sense of exploration and progression was Bethesdas forte , so no surprise it is in Skyrim too. And who can forget the masterful score , it elevated the experience to another level. There is a reason people play skyrim 7 years after launch, it still is a lot of fun.

5. The Witcher
The game that started my fanboy drivel for witcher series. I had no idea about the game , what kind of game it was or who was developing it. And boy did it surprise me. The atmosphere is just so thick you can slice it with a knife. There's this low fantasy feel to it that I have never experienced in games. It's dirty, ugly and crass and it's fantastic! And Chapter 4 is one of the best gaming hours I have ever experienced. To me it encapsulates the whole witcher series.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
The Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Mass Effec
Mass Effect 2
Skyrim
The Witcher

</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

--VOTE INFO END--

Father Kratos · Jul 10, 2018

Highlight Vote: Ni No Kuni[PS3]: This was the first JRPG I ever played(and the only one so far :() Always been a huge Ghibli fan and for that reason only bought this game. Dint like it much in the beginning but the story and the amazing ghibli art direction were good enough to continue and it turned out to be the one of the best games I've ever played. Its simply magical....and shout out to the lord high lord of the fairies :) Was so much looking forward to NNK2...but it looks so disappointing.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Ni No Kuni
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Bloodborne
Witcher 3
Mass Effect 2
Horizon Zero Dawn
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Quinton said:
I was going through some very hard times in 2016. In fact, that might have been the worst year of my life. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and by the time I began formulating a plan of action I was sleepless in cheap motel rooms and in and out of hospitals across several states. I hit rock bottom, and my recovery has been a slow, challenging ordeal. I needed positive influences in my life desperately, and a friend of mine recommended Trails in the Sky. I'd heard about it here and there through the years but never really took the time to investigate. The first game, appropriately named First Chapter, surprised me with its depth of characterization and lighthearted old-school adventure feel. I was enamored, and shocked by a powerful and moving ending, which led me to load up Second Chapter the following morning. It's good. It's really, really good. The gameplay systems are fine, but that's not why you'll be here. You'll be here for the story, with its sweeping moments and painful moments and prideful moments and shameful moments, for the journey of Estelle as she braves the unknown for a love that has grown her, shaped her, and made her the heroic young woman that she's become. There's a reason I tend to open with something deeply personal when touting Trails in the Sky -- I cried often, and loudly, during this game's closing chapters. I wept, and in weeping I rediscovered myself, and my addiction to great storytelling. My heart felt broken at the start of this 80-hour sequel, but by the end -- much like Estelle -- I was whole again. How can an experience like this be anything less than #1?

Man, thats rough. I hope everything is good now and glad that this game gave you the peace during those hard times.

Quinton · Jul 10, 2018

Father Kratos said:
Man, thats rough. I hope everything is good now and glad that this game gave you the peace during those hard times.

It's been ups and downs, but nothing anywhere near so low as what that year brought to me. I'm very, very lucky to have some great friends who have helped me get back on my feet again. Life's a struggle and we make the most of it, I suppose. Thank you for the kind words. <3

MoonFrog · Jul 10, 2018

Epilexia said:
I don't have too much time to write about my picks in this list, so I will only highlight 'Infinite Space' by Himufi Kono.

A combat system not based in grinding, that is all about creating complex strategies looking for the weakness of the enemies.

A story with the ambition of a visual novel, including branching paths. For example, if there is a war, you can select what side you want to support. And depending on this, all the missions and stories will change. Sometimes, a same mission can change based on what army you decided to support. Instead of attacking in the mission, you need to defend this same attack.

There are tens of branching paths. And it includes two complete games. In the second one, you are the same character various years later, once he has reached the age of 18. And all your choices in the first part of the game as a kid will sculpt the events in this part. And in this second part the story will be impressed with much more mature subjects. You will not be a kid anymore. The idealism and all your dreams of the childhood will die. You will face the real life.

Plus like in 'Suikoden 2', you can recruit close to 100 characters. Each one with his different story. And each one altering the story or the events that can happen in the game.

Plus the graphics seen taken from a forgotten Sega Saturn unreleased JRPG, with a complex 3D engine for the combats, including charming low res textures.

And even to customize your ships, there is a puzzle system to optimize each part of the engine with a 'Tetris' inspired layout.

Yeah, I just played this this past month. It is a really good game. Really like the SMC and LMC and just the scope of the adventure.

Wish we'd get a spiritual sequel or something.

gordofredito · Jul 10, 2018

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Final Fantasy VI
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Persona 5
Suikoden 2
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy VII
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 1
Divinity Original Sin 2
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Persona 4
Xenoblade Chronicles 1
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
The Witcher 3
Bloodborne
Final Fantasy X
Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
Final Fantasy IX
Valkyria Chronicles
Fire Emblem Awakening
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
Mass Effect 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

I don't think order will matter in the end but I did order them from 1 -> 10.
Kinda hurts putting a Bethesda game among these legends but I can't deny how epic and significant Skyrim is.

My Top 5 RPGs ever:
1-Final Fantasy VI

2-Persona 5

3-Suikoden 2
http:///wp-content/uploads/2013/07/suikoden-ii.jpg
4-Chrono Trigger

5-Final Fantasy VII

Top Honorary Mentions that I wish were in my top 10:

11-The Witcher 3

witcher_3_geralt_and_ciri_proper_2560x1440_by_scratcherpen-d8wmkb7.jpg

12-Bloodborne

Dark Souls changed gaming but Bloodborne is better in basically every single way

13-Final Fantasy X

lord_of_flood · Jul 10, 2018

Highlight Vote: Bloodborne - Quite possibly the best action RPG title I've ever played. The combat design and enemy encounters are incredible, with satisfying challenge and tense moments throughout the whole game. The setting is fantastic and only gets better the farther along the game goes, and the level design is very well done. The game has very interesting lore and characters in it too, and that's made even better by said elements not being intrusive to the gameplay. All of these aspects, and more, made it such an addicting game to play that I had a very hard time putting it down, even when the challenge seemed daunting. It was a sincere treat to play, and one that I'll not soon forget.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Bloodborne
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Nioh
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
NieR: Automata
Paper Mario
Xenoblade Chronicles
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut
Tales of Symphonia
Pokemon Black/White
Dark Souls III
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Borderlands
Bravely Default
Fire Emblem: Awakening
The World Ends With You
Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Beary · Jul 10, 2018

After being a lurker for a long time, let's get this going with a giant first post! So here we go:

Highlight Vote

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean – This Game is so weird and I love it for that. The environments are prerenderd and make you feel like you are in a strange new world. This vibe is further strenghtend by the characters that look like nothing you would encounter on earth. The card based battle system is very satisfying when you get a good combo going and the music stuck in my head for a long time. The voiceacting is pretty bad though and the quality of the recordings is unacceptable for an otherwise great game. Baten Kaitos Origins is apparently better, but as it never came out in Europe I sadly never played it.

Full Points

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance – Fire Emblem is a great series and Path of Radiance may be the best one right now (never played the ones exclusive to Japan). Ike is a great main character and the fact that he is just a common mercernary makes the story a lot more grounded and relatable. The characters and their relationships are also superb, especially the ones between Ike and Soren and the three brothers Oscar, Boyd and Rolf. Also I really like the world they created and that the Laguz (people who can turn into animals) and the racism they encounter are a big part of the story. The character designs are great and overall this is just a lovely game.

Ys Origin – I discovered Falcoms output pretty late. I got Ys: Origin just a few years ago, but I immediatly felt at home and like I have played these games for all my life. The Battles are fast-paced as is the music and they are both great. It's a lot of fun to explore the environments, heck it's just fun to move around in general. There is so much to love in this game: the varied boss fights, the timeless look, the atmosphere, the music, the different playable characters – I love it all. Ys: The Oath in Felghana has better world building, but I like Origin just a little bit better.

Diablo II – The King of Loot is still great. I played this game for so long. Just experimenting with different character builds and classes is a lot of fun and seeing your new skills in action is always a blast. The World seems dark and dangerous and the monsters are ugly as hell. Together with the great music, this game just oozes atmosphere. It's also got one of the coolest boxarts ever conceived.

Gothic II – The only version of GTA I really like (it's actually not like GTA at all). Gothic 2 features a great open world with a lot to discover and people that actually seem to live in this world. A lot of the things you do have consequences and so it's a lot of fun to roam around and see how people react to the stuff you do. I played this game more than ten years ago so I do not remember everything, but it will always have a place in my heart.

Grandia II – I seem to really like the number two, but Grandia II is just another great sequel. The battle system is really cool. There is a Timeline that shows who has the next turn and you can interrupt enemies and throw them back on the Timeline. So planning your moves and managing the timeline is a big part of battles. The cast and music are also pretty great. The biggest complaint I had back in the day was the annoying sound of the footsteps, which are louder than everything else. Yikes!

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door – Unique Artstyle, hilarious writing and a fun battle system – these are the ingredients Intelligent Systems used to craft an amazing RPG. You can never anticapte what is coming next. One Minute you're wrestling, the next minute you're in a haunted forest. The battle system is the typical Mario RPG system, where you have to use timing to properly attack and defend. The game has some pacing problems, but overall this is one great game.

Pokemon Gold/Silver – So this is the last second game in a series in my list. This game took the great blueprint from Red/Blue and expanded on it without complicating it too much or being too handholdy like the later entries in the series. The new Pokemon are great and hunting the new legendary Pokemon who could appear randomly was both epic and kind of annoying. The culmination of the series.

Dragon Quest IV – This game is a cozy warm blanket of a game. You play short stories that lead to a bigger picture in the end. So you start on a single continent of the world and play through your story and then you change your character and play through a different story before everyone meets up in the end. It's a great way to get to know your party members and to have a reference point for every part of the world. It's just a jolly adventure.

Etrian Odyssey – I have only played the first one, but I hopefully will get to play the fourth soon. What makes this series special is the sense of dread you feel while going down the dungeons in this First-Person-Dungeoncrawler. You draw your own maps so every new part you explore is important. The scary part are the monsters who can seriously mess you up. There also special high level monsters called FOEs that you can see on the map that are incredibly strong and can even join other battles. This is not a game where you can buttonmash through random encounters. You gotta plan every move to finally conquer this terrifying dungeon.

--VOTE INFO START—

<HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
</HIGHLIGHT VOTE– 4 points>

<FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Ys Origin
Diablo II
Gothic II
Grandia II
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Pokemon Gold/Silver
Dragon Quest IV
Etrian Odyssey
</FULL POINT GAMES – 2 points>

<HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>
Terranigma
Cthulhu Saves the World
Dark Souls
Valkyria Chronicles
Xanadu Next
Golden Sun
Bravely Default
Half Minute Hero
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
</HONORABLE MENTIONS – 1 point>

--VOTE INFO END--

Resetera's Top 101 Essential RPGs - Final Update. Top 101 up plus many extras.

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