Top 100 RPGs of all time (yes, I play that many RPGs) in my opinion. Mostly JRPGs, as I just prefer the genre. Order does matter. Yes I realize FFIX is the only FF not on the list, that is entirely intentional.
Feel free to comment on absent games, but if something seems like a glaring omission (Valkyria Chronicles) it's because I didn't consider it an RPG. Yes I have played all of these and many more.
Best RPG, if not game, ever made. Without a doubt. Gameplay is eh, but oh my god the story. Yes, I really do love it that much.
One of my favourite Final Fantasies, personally. Though I acknowledge that FF6 is probably better made.
What do I need to say, besides perhaps Fsteak.
Amazing game, probably one of my favourite RPGs, most certainly my favourite SNES RPG.
An amazing dark RPG, though it doesn't have the same gameplay caliber of P4
The best of the series, it's a shame it peaked so early
A great FF game in its own right, and probably the best tactical RPG ever made, bar none.
Amazing game, one of my favourite franchises as well.
Great entry into the series, really brings the Final Fantasy series into the next generation.
SO Much fun, GREAT soundtrack, and set in my favourite part of Tokyo. What is not to love.
Dark, great story, great graphics for the time. All overall a great game. A bit more actiony.
No list is complete without Chrono Trigger, another amazing SNES RPG.
As above, a great game. The sheer size of the cast actually brings it down a little bit.
Where I think the story in the FF series really started to become more mature, it marks a major turning point for the series.
Square's parting gift to Nintendo, and wow what a gift it was. Probably the last Mario game I really enjoyed playing too.
A great Dragon Quest game, and not even usually my preference as far as RPGs. Just a great length and great enjoyability.
Very divisive, but very forward looking for RPGs. I think it really helps pave a more streamlined future for the genre.
It's Star Ocean, it's great. Even if it's not as well know as some other major RPG titles.
My first Seiken Densetsu game, and man if you had people to play it with it was amazing. Heck, it still is amazing.
SUCH a good game, I love the Breath of Fire series even if it has been in a steady decline since 2. But this was quite the pinnacle to hit.
Hard as heck, but so rewarding. It's like Pokemon, only with your soul instead of pokeballs and demons instead of cute little monsters.
Overrated as heck, but it did really bring JRPGs into the mainstream, so for that it deserves a place at least 1/5 through the list.
A solid remake of a game that started one of the best RPG series of all time, FF could learn how to do remakes from this one I feel.
Like it or hate it, this was a pretty important game, and really showed that disney/FF can somehow work together.
As the above, this really brought the series into its own. Moving it from fanservice into the realm of a serious RPG that can subsist on its own merits.
Sadly, it never made it to the states, but wow this game was fun. Not quite as great as Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana) but still an overall solid game.
Pinnacle of the SaGa series, but it hit a low point that made it cater to solely a niche audience. I dropped so much time into this one.
The refinement of the Job system that everyone loves, the story was lacking but the gameplay was fantastic.
Yeah, it only made 28 cause there were so many other quality titles above it. Great great great game. Especially for a portable title.
So it isn't a deep and epic game, but damn is it fun. Which is all that really matters.
Probably the best of the heavily anime Nippon Ichi RPGs, it's a lot of fun too.
The pinnacle of the Devil Summoner series, it's well...yeah. Raidou vs the Soulless Army. Best title for a game ever.
The start of probably the greatest RPG series of all time, in itself it isn't amazing but for the time it is fantastic. Plus the series that it started is worthy of note.
I am impressed if you know this game, but it's so good. Not much else to say.
The best Tales game I think, and one of the reasons I actually got the Gamecube.
Do you remember this game? If not, maybe you should go back and play it, cause it was just a lot of fun all around.
A medicore Final Fantasy, but that still makes for a great RPG. Fun gameplay, but the story was weak and the characters even weaker. Beautiful game though.
I don't play anymore, but the importance of the game for MMORPGs can't be understated. It's the default for MMOs these days.
There's a lot of SNES RPGs on this list for a reason, and this was another adventure RPG that really appealed to my love of history.
So often sadly forgotten, but a brilliant game overall.
Does this count as an RPG? If it does, it's the spotlight title for dungeon-crawling loot grabbers...which leads to:
The refined version of the above, it has the loot grabbing mechanics without the complexity of D2 where you can easily screw your character up forever in the first 10 minutes of playing.
Not as good as Bowser's Inside Story, but really continues that Mario RPG trend that is frankly better than any of the other Mario games.
Not to be confused with FFVI, this really helped pioneer systems that became useful for later entries into the series. Also quite innovative for the time period
Not really my game of choice, but it deserves recognition for its influence on the WRPG genre. As a result, here it is. I don't include ME2 as that is more a shooter than anything else, though it does that quite well.
While perhaps a more refined version of the first, a game requires a lot of innovation in my opinion to top earlier entries in the series. As a result, it is a few ranks lower.
A beautiful game for the platform, really shows how to do action RPGs really well. Lots of innovative
My first MMO, and while I prefer it to WoW, I recognize it is not as innovative or as important. Didn't stop it from being fun for about 4-5 years for me though. Quite worth the investment.
Perhaps the saving grace of the 64, it wasn't Super Mario RPG but it was a lot of fun still.
The lowest ranked FF on this list, it's still a great game. A bit difficult at times, it didn't pioneer the way some of the later FFs did, but was fun nonetheless.
Okay, it's a strategy game more than an RPG, but I loved this game so much I had to sneak it in anyway.
It's not a great RPG in its own right, but it's certainly fun and hilarious, and that is really worth something isn't it?
What can I say about this game but that it's so dangerous for an OCD gamer like me.
Speaking of the above, same idea here, but with giant robots.
It got some flak, but I think it's a very very fun game, me and my friend played it at the same time and each took a different path. Very interesting.
The only Xenosaga you'll see on this list, it still had some of the ties into Gears that made me like the series, before the story started getting terrible.
Probably the last PS2 title we'll see, but it's quite the great swan song. Strategy, roleplaying, some ren'ai elements. Win all around.
One of the first games that showed that portable RPGs don't have to make sacrifices to be good.
I was debating including this, but if FFT gets in I guess this does as well. OCD gamer's wet dream or nightmare depending. Also pretty entertaining. Sadly, the sequels add very little to make the formulae any better.
Not ashamed to add this one to my list, it was only fun with a group of people, but it brought a lot of fun if you did.
So much fun from a series I'm not even a big fan of, not much else to say. It's DQ, you already know what it is.
Amazingly pretty for the PS2, the combat system was sometimes unforgiving but it was a fun game nonetheless. Fun story too.
Sorry, gonna start getting into more obscure titles here probably. Really really fun portable DQ game, and who doesn't love Slimes?
Who says that RTSRPG games can't work on consoles? On a handheld, this one worked fantastically.
A more convential RPG for the SMT series, some interesting art direction with some punishing difficulty. Fun game. Plus you eat people.
Stupid name aside, it's a continuation of the KH series proper and much missed.
Hey, it's a good game, what can I say :P. Neat mechanics.
Fond old memories, probably mostly nostalgia, I admit.
Also Eternal Punishment, probably the played (pair) of Persona games, but still a lot of fun as most SMT games are. As dark as any of the other games, if not darker and more mature.
Maybe more of an action game than an RPG, it was and still is one of the most unique titles I've played.
Is this an RPG? If it is, it's worth note. The only Pokemon game I really loved, it's where it started. There's only room for 151 pkmn in my heart, and this has them all.
I didn't love SKies of Arcadia as much as some people, but it was still a fun game and I'm glad to see it around.
A great game that was on a much more common platform than Grandia 2, thankfully. Not Final Fantasy, but good enough to make this list
It wasn't BoF2, but it was still a load of fun with really nice art, fun gameplay, and interesting (and long) story. Plus you can still turn into a dragon.
Some humour, but more serious than From the New World, the best entry in the series I feel.
The other Frontier game, and hey...I loved it. Something about sidequesting with each character to get the different magics etc. was just lots of fun.
Another Nippon Ichi game, not as great as AI but still a fun and cute game.
Who here remembers this game, anybody anybody? No? Oh...okay
Strongly in that classic category, unfortunately released on an underplayed platform, this was probably the best reason to get the dreamcast (this and chuchu rocket).
One of the better PSP RPGs I've played, really nice artwork.
Can't have this list without Fire Emblem. That's all.
I think the other game with a quasi-western setting I've ever remotely liked.
Fun one, I don't play my DS anymore, but this is what is usually in it right now if I am.
It's Arc the Lad, and one of his better games I feel.
Remember this one? Probably not? Still a great and underrated SRPG
Beautiful beautiful game, and a pretty fun ARPG too.
It's a survival-horror RPG (more RPG than the second) and I had to find a way to include one of my favourite PS1 games ever. Not that high on the list as it succeeds more as survival horror than as an RPG. Would near top my survival horror list probably.
I love Ys...just throwing that out there. It's a great classic game.
Another game in that "I don't like it, but I understand/appreciate it". Just...such an awful story, which really kills an RPG for me. But for those WRPGs fans out there, I included this in my list.
I put 2 and 3 on here, so I may as well include the start of our beloved Ryu.
My favourite FM game, I love the FM games for SRPGs. I know FM3 is more popular, but the story in this one just fit with me better.
Punishingly hard, it'll make you cry. So hard I dropped it pretty low on the list, but I still enjoyed the game as an action RPG. I just wish it were a bit more grindy and a bit less hard.
I liked it, I know some folks didn't but too bad, it's my list!
Beautiful game and great soundtrack alone make this into the list. Lackluster story keeps it low.
See my opinions on the other Crystal Chronicles, the same about holds true. I just prefer the original still.
Punishingly hard sometimes, but it scratches that SRPG-VP itch. Yes, a very specific itch.
Seemed like a proof of concept of Revenant Wings to me, I still greatly enjoyed it.
I retain a lot of hope in this title, but it's not quite there yet. When it gets a bit less buggy/more optimized/and leaves room for failure (a big deal when you are spending hundreds of hours on your character) than it may be there.
Lacking in some areas, but this game deserves mention for showing how utterly gorgeous an MMORPG can be. Hopefully with future updates, it'll be worth playing for other reasons too.
Okay you know what? I hate Eve Online, I think the people that play it comprise some of the most vile video game community out there. But as a game it accomplishes a lot of very very interesting mechanics and is worth mention. Though I'm not sure if Spreadsheets in Space is really an RPG.
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