10. Witcher 3
Before playing the game, I read the books. And oh boy/girl, was I right. You can play the game as a standalone edition, even though you will miss some references from Witcher 1 and 2, but nothing that will impact your gameplay or the story.
What pleased and mesmerized me the most about Witcher 3 was the depth of the quests, interactions, and decision-making that could change the outcome of the main quest. Moral decisions? You will rarely please everyone and will have to make some choices that will leave you with a bad taste afterward. Your goal is to find your protégé Ciri while bartering for information and gold along the way.
The combat is action with doses of strategic planning. Using the right oil or potion before the fight can guarantee an easy victory. You can customize your Skill Tree build to fit your style.
9. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
I think the replayability and loot system trumped many games here. The major highlight, for someone so fixated on jRPGs where most progression systems are linear, was the skills tree. I became addicted to the game and spent a good part of my adolescence in the game, testing different classes and builds. When I felt the game was finally stuck into a grinding – and after getting tired of killing the Mephisto 200x to drop a Ring of Jordan, they launched the Lord of Destruction expansion and I met my new passion: Druid.
The world was also upgraded from the first game, expanding the territory to new environments such as deserts and swamps. To fully understand the lore, you had to talk to NPCs and at the time, I wasn’t aware or didn’t bother. But visiting Old Tristam and saving Cain is an unforgettable experience for many Diablo I players who love to listen to him.
8. Pokémon Red/Blue
I may be too old to remember, but I think Pokémon was my very first RPG. I was fascinated at the possibility of exchanging Pokémon with my friends and even more when my friend’s Pokémon did not obey me and made me lose the battle. Daycare for life, Machamp.
As I said, it is possibly my first RPG, but for sure my first turn-based RPG. You didn’t need to be hitting a button madly. You had to think strategically, think about the strengths and weaknesses of your Pokémon, use items, and even run away because everyone knows that the hero who runs today, lives to become a legend tomorrow. The first time, I picked Charmander as my starter and as you know it was an ordeal fighting the first two gyms. So I restarted the game, picked Bulbasaur, and destroyed the first two gyms like a boss. It was a lesson and a spark for the young RPG gamer in me to emerge.
7. Final Fantasy Tactics
The Final Fantasy series has a huge weight by itself in the RPG world, but SquareSfot explored uncharted lands, or genres, with Tactics. I’m glad it did because it delivered us a fantastic story about war, betrayal, power, and a mysticism involving the zodiac that made me a bit interested in horoscopes. You play as Ramza Beoulve, a member of the House Beoulve that claims “he had no wish of changing the world for just a select few while others suffer”.
The job system, something very familiar in the Final Fantasy series, shines throughout the entire game. With countless jobs to choose and master, as well as unique characters with their abilities, each battle is a new and thrilling experience. Even innocent and beautiful Chocobos can become your nemesis if you are not careful.
6. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
At first, I didn’t like Castlevania so much with the Belmont family. Whipping and blessing the demons with Richter was cool, but after four stages using the same weapon and sub-weapon, I got bored. When I found a vampire with a velvety voice and demonic powers, but good intentions, I gave it another shot.
You play as Alucard, the son of Dracula. (Have you read his name backward?), who wants to destroy Dracula’s castle that reappeared. The gameplay is traditionally 2D sidescroller, but they added levels, different equipment, and weapons – no more whipping – a looting system, and other elements that made this game amazing. And the soundtrack, dammit, it’s simply perfect. If you like to kill monsters that don’t belong to this world, this is a must-try.
5. Persona 5
In a world where turn-based RPGs have lost their throne to action RPGs, It appears at the end of a school corridor, a nostalgic light that carries in its core all the hope of old school RPG players. With charismatic characters – even the silent protagonist – interactions and relationships that mean something, a contemporary plot that both entertains and teaches, and of course, a super stylish turn-based combat that makes you groove while invoking the manifestation of your personality.
Persona has it all. Whether you are conspiring against your school teacher in how to lecture him some good manners around students or going to the bathhouse with your friends to enhance your relationship and your charm, you feel involved. You feel that with every decision you make, something can change for the better or worse, but even so, it is your decision and your consequences. This is the essence of a great RPG.
4. Final Fantasy X
Start the introduction: Tidus, a young athlete, enters the aquatic field accompanied by heavy metal and shines like the star he is. Suddenly he is caught in mayhem, people running, the city being destroyed, an unknown warrior, and monsters. This raised the bar high that throughout the game it didn’t even flinch. Maybe a little on the laughing scene between Tidus and Yuna. The game delivered us fun, romantic, hateful, hopeful, and sad moments. It was the first game I cried like a newborn. I knew that the characters were pixels for my entertainment, but they became part of my story, so you should listen to their story, as Tidus says.
The Sphere Grid feature is awesome and early on gave us some control over character progression. The turn-based combat was just the cherry on the cake for me to consider as one of the best Final Fantasy in existence.
3. Chrono Cross
WHAT, ranked higher than Chrono Trigger?
Instead of focusing on time travel, Chrono Cross betted on alternative worlds. The protagonist Serge travels through these worlds while trying to find out why the hell he is dead in an alternative world and all the changes this has caused while hunting the Frozen Flame, an artifact that allows the user to manipulate time and space to win in the lottery. During your journeys, you can meet up to 40 party members, each with their backstory. You also find and antagonize the… antagonist, Linx, that has a motivation of its own that goes beyond that basic instinct of doing evil things.
The battle has also innovated with a system of stamina, combos, and elements. You can be a high risk, high reward player striking hard at every move or play sparingly while building an area of elements and accumulating enormous damage on enemies.
2. Final Fantasy XIV
Yes, my favorite Final Fantasy of all time is an MMORPG, and for a pretty simple reason. Apart from having the best plot in an online game, references from the entire franchise gravitate toward its content. What else can a Final Fantasy lover wish for?
First of all, we are talking about the version of A Realm Reborn, which was renewed on top of the late Final Fantasy XIV. Second, Each expansion further expands the universe and the plot, introducing you to new characters, new intrigues, morals, and outcomes.
The gameplay is typical of an MMO, but with Jobs instead of classes and other elements of the franchise. In the last expansion, they added a feature where you can complete dungeons with NPCs, so you can experience the game as a great single-player adventure. And you should, because to this day, the story boasts over 200 hours of content, and most of the time, it will exceed your expectation.
1. Breath of Fire III
If you noticed, there was a Breath of Fire missing in the list. Not anymore, because it is here to reign over them all.
You start as a young Ryu who is found and adopted in a forest by two thieves. From then on, they start educating him about the world. You notice Ryu’s evolution even in battles when initially he attacks with an animation of fear and then becomes firmer, holding the sword like a good gentleman holding an umbrella for his lover. The plot begins to unfold, you meet other characters and get to know more about Ryu and the world’s background.
As with all Breath of Fires, Ryu has the power to transform into dragons and this system is the golden egg of the game. Throughout the game, you find Chrysms, which are tombs for dragons. On contact, Ryu acquires the power of the deceased for himself. When transforming, you combine up to three powers to turn into several dragons. Each one with its appearance, power, and temperament. Other elements like the Fairy Village, in which you play SimCity and the fishing minigame are great hobbies to distract while your anxiety makes you avoid an evil goddess planning to destroy the world.
That’s it, 100 electronic RPGs that in some way marked my life and told me stories about heroism, adventure, romance, tragedy, betrayal, and overcoming. I hope you identified with some of the games or that I made you feel like trying some. Either way, I had a lot of fun writing. Now excuse me, my video game needs me.
