Most of all, EarthBound has a tremendous amount of heart. EarthBound has a great turn-based battle system and weird enemies that fully embrace the game’s eccentric sense of humor, plus unique twists on the RPG formula like homesickness as a status ailment and calling your dad to save your game. That modern setting mixed with bizarre, offbeat humor makes it a unique experience and has helped it maintain its cult status as something special and very different from its contemporaries.

Early proof that not all RPGs need fantasy settings, EarthBound is one of the best turn-based RPGs of the 16-bit era and takes place in a town that feels like it could be anywhere in middle America. Combat that is a significant part of the experienceĮarthBound is a weird, wonderful game about four kids who save the world.

Persistent character progression (including player-exposed stats).

Systems (Is there an interesting dynamic between its various meta systems?)īecause the RPG is a particularly diverse and hard-to-define genre, it was important for us to nail down exactly what qualifies as an “RPG.”įor the purposes of this list, we defined an RPG as a game that includes:.

Combat (Is it fun? Innovative? Does it ask the player to make interesting choices?).

Character progression (Is there satisfying decision-making when it comes to building a character, choosing a combat style, or making other decisions in the game world?).

Presentation (Is its sound, music, and/or visual style particularly strong?).

Story (Is it compelling, well-written, or uniquely told?).And we’ve sunk hundreds - sometimes even thousands - of hours immersing ourselves in those incredible universes, whether that be stunning high fantasy kingdoms full of knights and dragons, exciting sci-fi realms brimming with possibilities, or even extraordinary versions of our own world.īut which RPGs are the best of the best? Which RPGs were influential enough to lead the rest, or bold enough to question the mold in new and exciting ways? Which RPGs gave us the richest characters, worlds, and stories - experiences we’ll never forget? IGN got its biggest RPG fans in a room to find out. The best RPGs embrace a rich storytelling tradition as well as deep and engaging gameplay to create universes that are as exciting to explore as they are thrilling to quest and do battle in. From its humble tabletop origins, the RPG has grown and evolved over the years into the most dominant and ambitious game genre, boasting a catalog as critically acclaimed as it is diverse. Role-playing games have a long and fascinating history. Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queenĭragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

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