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[King Boo]

1) The Last Remnant (PC and X360) - Great game. Recruit and manage small parties, and battle monsters. Customize your characters by having them fight a certain way. There are many characters as well. There are four different races, with different physical weapons, different kinds of magic, and different kinds of super techniques (reserved for more major characters).

Imperfections/things I wanted: More of everything. This game genre feels pretty rare, so I was pretty sad when the adventure had to come to an end.

2) Phantasy Star Online (DC, GCN, Xbox, PC) - Three races, and three classes (there's an exception for the robot race, they can't be mages). Very minimal story telling, with just messages placed down here and there. This leaves the imagination to create the story for you. Tons of loot to get, and the duels were always fun. The game also has a great soundtrack. The game also has two tracks for each stage. One track is played when there is no fighting, and when a fight happens, the second track is played.

Imperfections/things I wanted: While each stage did have two tracks, I wish there were more.

3) Diablo 2 and Lord of Destruction - Excellent game with 7 distinct classes. Staggering amounts of loot to get. Each class can be built several different ways. Some classes are more item dependent than others for things like PvP, but they are all doable.

Imperfections/things I wanted: Music was pretty lame to me. Besides the Tristram track, the rest was pretty boring. I can't even remember another theme that was played in that game. And why did this game create such a big expectation for Diablo 3 for me? Total let down.

4) Dragon Quest V - This game kinda reminds me of that Oregon Trail game. You and your family go on a quest and slay monsters. Alright so they aren't that similar. But it was cool killing slime with your character's family. It had some pokemon elements too. You can recruit monsters to help you out.

Imperfections/things I wanted: I never liked how I could see the monsters attack, but I can't see my party members or their attack animations. Just the slash or explosion from a spell. I guess I don't like the PoV. This game also needs more battle themes.

5) Mario and Luigi Bowser's Inside Story (NDS) - One of my favorite games ever. A great story for a Mario game, and great gameplay. Time all your jumps, and hammer swings, and you can walk out with 0 damage done on the Bros. Besides controlling the Bros, take control of Bowser and beat up buildings. Another thing I like about the game is the setting. Parts of the stages are (like in the title) inside him. Kinda like that Osmosis Jones movie.

Imperfections/things I wanted: Hmmm...I wish King Boo was a playable character.

6) Dark Souls (PC, PS3, X360) - Another game that seems to have very little story telling. Or should I say it doesn't normally tell you the story like in other games. I suppose I like this approach (also found in games like Left4Dead) since it makes you ponder about it while you try to dodge a fatal attack. Speaking of fatal, there are plenty of fatalities to go around in this game.

Imperfections/things I wanted: I know this isn't a game like Diablo, but I wish there was more loot.

7) Chrono Cross (PS1) - I don't remember much, but I did remember having a lot of fun with this game. Tons of characters to recruit. Nice soundtrack. Somewhat different from other RPGs. It got rid of the leveling, and I think I had to equip magic lol. There was also an element field you had to manipulate so you can summon.

Imperfections/things I wanted: I guess the downside to that huge cast of characters is no character development. I think each character should have gotten some sidequests. Also there was this one character who I thought was Magus from the previous game. Thanks to the internet, I found out he is his own original character, and the Magus storyline was scrapped out. That was dumb. He will still be Magus to me.

8) Dragon Age Origins and Awakening (PC, PS3, X360) - Gather an army, press space and queue commands for something awesome to happen. My friend was saying this game was full of cliches, but a lot of it was still new to me. I had a lot of fun playing as a Mage, and have Alistar tank for me. Then I became too powerful with that Fade stuff. He also said the story sucked, but I enjoyed it.

Imperfections/things I wanted: I have this problem where if I enjoyed the first game, I place a good amount of faith that the next game will be even better. But here's hoping DA3 will be good!

9) Tactics Ogre - Ok I don't own this yet. But I played it on my friend's PSP, and it's pretty damn good. Not sure what's going on since I started...well I don't know where even lol. But the game left a great impression on me, so I will give it a spot on the list. I wish to play it some more, but I don't own a PSP. Hopefully it gets ported to a platform I do own or will own.

10)Path of Exile - This game isn't out yet. I played the beta and this too left a great impression on me. You can customize your character a lot. It seems you can build your character to be any class, judging by the massive skill tree. The story and music is ok. Oh and it's free.


Honorable Mentions


11)Skyrim - It's an ok game. What really makes the game good are the mods. I first thought the combat was decent, but after playing Dark Souls...

12)Oblivion - I actually enjoyed this more than Skyrim, even though Skyrim does feel like the better game. I guess it's because I once again created bigger expectations for the continuation.

13)Chrono Trigger - I didn't feel right placing two Chrono games, so I picked Cross over Trigger. But this is still a great game.

14)Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door - I didn't feel right placing two Mario games, so I picked Bowser's Story over this. But this is still a great game.

15)Legend of Alon Dar - Ok this game I vaguely remember. It was so long ago, and it was one of those obscure rpgs found on the ps2. I just remember it being two players, and beating the life out of monsters. I know I logged many hours into the game, so I will mention it. I think there were four races, humans, orcs, lizards, and another kind of lizards. No idea what the story was about.

 

[kswiston]

Glad to see we already have over 60 participants already. Hopefully enough people take part to generate a diverse top 100.

I know a lot of you are working on your lists in installments, but don't forget to vote for at least 5 titles before the deadline if you want your input to count towards the final aggregate list.

 

[vocab]

Chrono Trigger
Super Mario RPG
Ys: Oath in Felgana

All short 15 hour rpgs that don't require grinding. All OSTS are flawless, and not a track wasted.

Oath in Felgana is the definitive adrenaline in your face ARPG. Fast pace, and well put together. Chrono Trigger and SMRPG have some of the best characters of all time. They both have simple stories, but they are executed so well.

Anachronox. A western based JRPG similar to FF7 in story. However, the characters, and the dialogue really make this game standout.

Demons Souls What can I say, I spent 150 hours with this game. It's perfectly balanced between fun and challanging with an amazing online experience. Sad the sequel didn't live up to my expectations.


Honorable mentions : Every Shin Megami Tensei game. Flawed games that have a lot going for them, but there's usually a few things holding them back to make them true masterpieces. I really want to like Persona 4 as a game, but I can't.

 

[Lancehead]

In alphabetical order:

Alpha Protocol

Gameplay is poor, but roleplaying is excellent. Detaching dialogue from skill checks and making it real-time resulted in an avoidance of "win" conditions, offered far greater reactivity than you'd otherwise get, because it's not tethered to skills anymore, and it also offered a more organic flow of conversation. That said, skills still had some influence: using the dossier mechanic, information learned through exploration, hacking etc can be used in dialogues. All of this coupled with reputation mechanics, instead of morality, made for a brilliant roleplaying framework.

I also like the hive-like quest structure where the player can choose the order in which to tackle missions in any given location. Moreover you can jump between locations. All of that, plus the fact that one doesn't need to complete all the missions in a given location to reach the "main" mission, meant a far greater freedom for the player, and some interesting moments.

Some of the characters are also very well written. Sis and Stephen Heck come to mind.

I'm choosing the game for 3 points not because it’s my most liked RPG but because it did the most innovative things in the WRPG realm in recent times.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

This game has some serious flaws. The game needs severe rebalancing to make some of the skills useful (firearms, for example). Another big issue is combat in general. The game tried to offer both turn based and real-time combat in one package. The result was some stupidity. Real-time combat is simply not fun, when you compare it to something like Diablo II. In turn based combat, enemies always get a free, unlimited move, round, meaning unless you manually enter combat mode, you're always one step behind.

Controlling the companions is not really optimal. They don't really use the best items, and go through health items like crazy, messing with any strategic considerations. The writing in general is pretty poor; no memorable characters, nor story. There are also other issues like poorly thought out random encounters and messed up xp system.

So why am I putting the game on this list? Two words: character sheet. It’s so liberating to look upon the character sheet and see barely any restrictions on how and where you can spend points. While abilities, disciplines, spells etc. are categorised, they all (including health and fatigue) draw from the same points pool that earned by levelling up. This flexibility while retaining strategic considerations one has to make when spending points, together with the complexity generated by various stats being interdependent is the primary reason I love Arcanum.

Deus Ex

The so called “immersive sim”. Coincidentally the immersive sim part is not really why I love this game. The character sheet is deceptively simple, but does offer a great variety of builds. This is due to the fact that skills cost different amounts while drawing from a single point pool. A lot of people don’t like by-the-numbers shooting mechanics, which admittedly makes shooting at low skill levels a pain, but I like it. And that’s because in an RPG I want player-character skill to take precedence over player skill, because then only you find meaning in the choices made. The stealth is pretty good considering this is a hybrid genre game. One of the things I like about this game is that it’s pretty good at remembering things, and acknowledging them within context. I like the functional variety among the skills, but some better balancing is in order. I mean, why do I want to upgrade my swimming skill?

Fallout 2

I love the Fallout universe; I think it’s one of the best in any medium. Everything from its setting, themes, art style, lore to people and places, it’s wonderful. The writing is great, not just how great some of the characters are, but how it’s used as a roleplaying tool. Its influence can be seen in many other Black Isle/Obsidian games. I also like the witty tone the game assumes, and some of the over-the-top moments.

Coming to the system design, SPECIAL is great in how it affects derived stats and skills and perks. The skills are great, but they kind of suffer from how weapon progression is designed. In particular, Energy Weapons are high end, meaning players have a strong incentive to simply switch to Energy Weapons in late game. The Power Armour is another issue because it removes any strategic considerations when deciding armour protection – weight trade-off.

The turn based combat is really well implemented with plenty of tactical depth (targeting body parts, firing mode, weapon and ammo change, use if items, companions etc.) facilitated by Action Points. A little more control over companions would’ve been nice, however.

The worldbuilding (area design) is very good as well: New Reno, San Francisco, Vault City, NCR, the Vaults, and the list goes on. They’re all a pleasure to visit. Also, tremendous work by Mark Morgan.

Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition

The change from isometric to first person perspective is pretty drastic as it had strong influence on area design and combat tactical depth, and skill application.

Being one big sandbox was a detriment to the area design. For one, the scale of the locations was pretty bad, but more importantly, it sort felt like happening in an isolated system. Cramming everything into the world map and still keep the interaction between various locations/factions varied and complex is a difficult exercise, and I think first perspective was in the end a big hindrance in that regard (for example, Legion regions may have been possible otherwise). Tactical depth in combat suffered due to first person, and player skill took precedence over character skill, which I dislike. But at least strategic depth was not lost compared to Fallout 1 & 2.

There are some other issues like too high a level cap, overly generous weight allowance, and perk every two levels. But the skill and perk system design is the best yet in the series. I really like the rearranging of the skills that Sawyer did, even if it introduced a drawback where there’s barely any functional difference between Guns and Energy Weapons.

A few words on Speech skills. While using speech as a *skill* isn’t usually a good way to do things, New Vegas increased the skill application, and did some interesting things in how it’s used to negate “win” conditions. For example, in Dead Money “winning” a speech isn’t actually a good thing as it turns out late in the game. Also, how multiple speech checks are used in The Lonesome Road.

Neverwinter Nights 2 (Mask of the Betrayer)

The D&D ruleset doesn't do this game any favours, yet one of the best RPGs. The one big negative is the companion influence system which uses a simple meter that creates a feedback loop that only encourages metagaming instead of roleplaying. In short, you say nice things to unlock more nice things to say to unlock more…

Not many like it, but I really like the Spirit Meter mechanic. It’s a very meaningful way to tie gameplay and roleplaying; how you manage the hunger and craving levels (which has strategic and tactical gameplay considerations) has a strong influence on events, people and places. It’s a pity D&D ruleset made it a bit of nuisance with its rest mechanics.

Much like KotOR II, this game also has many similarities to Torment – self-discovery and identity, the way companions and world are tied to you, and are influenced by your actions, subverting tropes etc. This game I consider a spiritual successor to Torment.

Planescape: Torment

It really is difficult to praise all the great things the game does, so I talk about the bad things first. The combat – it’s bad. D&D ruleset hasn’t helped much, even after a lot of bent rules such as no permanent class. The combat could’ve been better, but an even better solution would’ve been to pretty much remove the combat altogether. The combat doesn’t serve much purpose to the story where the entire roleplaying takes place. But some of the spells are cool.

Planescape setting is a primary reason why this game is so awesome, as it sets the foundation for many of the major themes in the game. It’s fascinating to explore the lore, factions, locations etc in the game. While the game could’ve used more planar travel, Sigil was a brilliant location that served a great starting point for this “alien” setting.

The game loves subverting tropes – the ugly protagonist, sympathetic undead, dangerous rats, brothels, quest structure, death, races, weapons, and so on. The companion interaction is top notch in how they are all related to TNO. While writing is by itself great I far more like how it’s used as a roleplaying tool (Fallout 2 had some influence here). For example, you can “create” a character just by lying several times.

Many memorable dialogues in the game – Ravel, Deionarra Sensory Stone, The Transcendent one, the Good/Practical/Paranoid Incarnations, Morte, Fall-From-Grace, and so on. And Mark Morgan’s music is icing on the cake.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II

This game has the best companion system of any RPG that I've played. You have a very strong influence over your companions (which is line with the story), and it almost negates the negative aspects of using an influence meter due to consequences of the influence being very in-sync with roleplaying.

Writing is excellent, and the game’s take on the Light Side/Dark Side is much better than any of the movies could manage. The games explores the nature of the Force itself, instead of the traditional light vs dark conflict, and asks interesting questions of the player, which brings me to Kreia who is a masterfully written character. She is always there asking questions, not giving answers one way or the other (like Elves!), making the player character question things, about herself and about the Force, offering new perspectives, all the while using the pc as a tool for a higher purpose.

The game has many thematic similarities to Planescape Torment, which is a main reason for its excellence. I consider it a spiritual successor to Torment.

System Shock 2

Another one of those “immersive sims”. But unlike Deus Ex, the immersive sim part plays a big role in my enjoyment of this game. The game manages to not only make sense of enemy respawn, but also make it an interesting mechanic, which is great in my book. The elements of terror and horror are also very well appreciated. I think I like the sound design in this game more than in Thief 1 or 2, which is a big compliment to say the least. Thanks to Eric Brosius for that, and also for the excellent music.

I love the character sheet in this game. It’s very similar to Arcanum’s, i.e. great freedom in defining the character. Proper strategic choices are incorporated by way of only one point (cyber module) pool to draw from. Also, much like Arcanum, the game could use some balancing – like Exotic weapons and some of the Tech skills.

Some great writing, too, for SHODAN and The Many.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

Bloodlines has probably the most mechanically sound character sheet. Highly flexible, and a great selection of attributes, skills and disciplines. But as a typical Troika game, combat kind of ruins things. While the progression system allows for a plethora of builds including non-combat builds, combat being an essential element of the game messes with some of the choice.

While speech skills are used, they mostly avoid becoming “win” buttons. The hub world design strikes a very good balance between space and detail. Also, the general atmosphere and music give the game a special – ahem – edge. The writing is great, and this game is the only RPG where I really enjoyed voice acting. Another big positive about the game is how drastically playthroughs can change by choosing a different clan; I especially love playing as a Malkavian.

 

[Coxy]

Grandia 3 points
The best battle system of any traditional RPG and the series would be essential on that point alone but the fantastic story and characters make this one of the best ever made. It's rich with themes and lore, the sense of adventure and feeling of setting off into a new unknown world is stronger here than in any other game I've played. The coming of age of Justin as he sets off into the world in wonderfully complimented by the changing of ages within thw world itself as the age of adventure is supposedly over as they reached the end of the world and they think there is nothing more to explore. This world view and history really enhances the feeling of exploring the unknown.

Grandia 2
The battle system is a triumph once more, even better in combat than the original, though the system for skill gaining and upgrades isnt quite as good. Instead of retreading the same ground as the original it takes a darker tone, though it's filled with witty humour. While the first game went against the changuing of the ages, this game takes the opposite approach, dealing with a world stuck in its old views and prejudices.

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
A really really adorable love story, the cast are all likeable and the script is pretty funny. Has some really interesting ideas like how you can never control the female lead, the most powerful character in the story and how she chooses to act over the course of the adventure.

Skies of Arcadia
Sky pirates! Ship battles! If this hasnt already sold you, you are a terrible person. It's a really interesting unique world with some great exploration, the cast are all likeable. All the exploration is rewarded by discoveries among other things. Customising your ship, recruiting a crew and building a secret pirate base are all really fun. There's almost certainly a HD rerelease of this coming soon so that'll be a perfect chance to try this one out.

Phantasy Star Online
I was really tempted to replace this with PSO2 this year but as superior as I think PSO2 is, it isnt quite the full package yet. PSO really nailed the formula of making doing the same areas over and over in the hopes of finding a rare item. The weapons look and play so differently that you're happy to do another run to try it out.

Super Robot Wars: Original Generations
An insane over the top story with constant twists and turns and reveals endlessly ramping up the number of substories make this a joy to experience, there's absolutely never a dull moment. The attack animations are really something, taking the best of mecha anime and adding even more to it. As much as I love SRPGs it's rare for them to actually be exciting but srw can really get you on the dfge of the seat as victory and loss conditions can change, multiple factions and even multiple bosses can intterupt a mission causing you to scramble to rethink your strategy.

Shining Force 3
One of the most ambitious and inventive games of all time, a vast epic covering 4 releases, telling a massive story from multiple sides. Beginning with the son of one of the founders of the republic and the newfound nations struggles to be free from the empire then moving on to show things from the empires point of view, telling the story of the youngest prince, questioning his fathers tyranny while also being wary of his brothers machinations. It finally all comes together in the third scenario, following a mercenary with no ties to either land who joins up with each army for a period as their goals coincide with his own. Over the course of each game events are happening at the same time and choices you make will have an effect on what's happening on the other side. The choices are really well done too, it's rarely clear you're even making a decision until later on. Years after playing I was learning about characters I could have let live instead of killing and such. It's a far cry from the blue good red bad decisions of many modern lauded games.

Valkyria Chronicles
Gorgeous studio ghibli style anime visuals coupled with a really new evolution of the SRPG formula spreading delicious tactical battles over vast battlefields. The life fire system really keeps you on your toes and battles become really exciting as huge mechanical fortresses and giant tanks show up. The cast is really varied with people of all ages and walks of lifes forced to come together to defend their homeland. From the dozens of unique characters fleshed out with their own backstories and relationship with other characters, which has an actual well implemented effect on battle with the potential system, to the alternate reality similarities to real world locations and events, it's hard to think anyone wouldnt find something to enjoy in here.

Ar Tonelico
Possibly the single most fleshed out and original world I've ever seen in any work of fiction. As the world below became polluted and unihabitable and known as the sea of death, people moved higher up, living in towers in the sky. To aid their survival humans created another race, Reyvateils, capable of interacting with the technology of the towers and using their functions. Over the hundreds of years since humans moved onto the towers, loss of understanding in the struggle to survive, wars and a lack of maintenance has caused damage to the towers and a lack of ability to repair them. So a large part of the quest unfolds understanding the world and how it works. this together with literally hundreds of pages of info on the locations, people, organisations, even cultural fads as well as theory behind the workings of everything made this a world I never struggled to believe.

Mana Khemia
On the surface this game appears to be a bit of high school anime style fluff, for a time this is true as you have a bit of fun and meet the cast and start off into the character quests which generally start with fun little skits. However as you dig deeper into the story and progress further down the character quest lines it takes on a much darker tone with some real tear jerker endings. The combat and skill systems are excellent too, battles move as fast or as slow as you want them to and while starting off basic, every few upgrades a new layer is added to the system, bringing support attacks and team defences to the table along with a vast array of alchemy items. The grow book is a really great system, it's like the sphere grid and other such systems but each node is unlocked by items you create and have extra bonuses depending on how well you make them. It's really addictive to keep filling it out and really pushes you to keep making stuff.

Honorable Mentions:

Langrisser 2
The most vast, sprawling and challenging SRPG I've ever played, not only do you have the dozen plus characters of a typical SRPG but each of your characters also has 6 generic troop units under their command, the same is true for the enemy and you end up with ridiculously huge scale battles with hundreds of units. Also boasts some amazing music by Noriyuki Iwadare.

Suikoden 2
A huge cast of interesting characters, it's really fun collecting them all and there's a nice bit of variety with the duels, standard battles and tactical battles. Some of the most memorable villains ever and a nice length without too much filler.

Suikoden 5
After two hugely disappointing sequels following suikoden 2 I went into this expecting very little and I was blown away by how good it is. It has a genuinely excellent story intertwining personal and political arrangements as well as a bunch of substories for many of the supporting characters who are more fleshed out than any other entry in the series.

Dragon Force
8 playable scenarios showing the side of each of the nations engaged in all out war to unite the continent before a dark god awakens. Over a hundred characters with a myriad of secrets and histories and relationships to be discovered. The battle system is really unique, allowing you to swiftly command groups of up to 100 soldiers.

Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky
Another one with a really well founded world and a long story spread over multiple games.

 

[archnemesis]

Top 10
• Demon's Souls (PS3) - A perfect combination between action-oriented combat and traditional RPG mechanics. I still haven't played the PC version of Dark Souls, so for now I prefer the original.
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC) - I was hoping that Skyrim would replace it from this list, but nope. Morrowind is filled with minor details of awesome that all the other games in the series are missing.
• Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (PSP) - The quintessential SRPG. With the speed fix there is no longer any reason to play the original.
• Legend of Grimrock (PC) - This is the first western first-person dungeon crawler I've managed to finish even though I've played classics like Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder. It's especially impressive considering the tiny dev team size.
• Mount and Blade: Warband (PC) - It's certainly a bit rough around the edges and almost all aspects of it could be easily improved. Despite that it's one of the best games I've played and hopefully M&B2 will fix most of my issues with it.
• Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero (PC) - Now that the series is available on GOG there are no valid excuses for not having played it.
• Parasite Eve (PS1) - It's one of the few RPGs that managed to pull off a modern setting.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne - I almost replaced this with Persona 4. They're both excellent games.
• Valkyrie Profile (PS1) - Where is my sequel?! No one cares about the Star Ocean series.
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (PC) - It holds up surprisingly well.
• Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land (PS2) - There are plenty of Japanese dungeon crawlers that I enjoy, but this one has better music, art, and story then the rest. On the other hand games like Etrian Odyssey are a lot more customizable.

Honorable Mentions
• Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (PS3) - I recently discovered this series
• Final Fantasy VI (SNES) - The best game in a series of great games.
• Koudelka (PS1) - If it wasn't for the slow speed it might even make the top 10.
• Suikoden III (PS2) - Suikoden is a great series and it's really difficult to pick only one game, but the different perspectives and non-linearity of SIII makes it a bit more special than the others.
• Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) - It's not only beautiful, but it also showed that strategy role-playing games can improve and evolve with modern gaming systems.

 

[Tizoc]

My list is almost done, will make a few corrections by tomorrow and then I'll post it.

 

[Gillian Seed]

Zelda games and Shenmue count? I think they are adventure games. Well here is my list:

1. Dragon Quest VIII

2. Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic

3. Mass Effect

4. Suikoden 2

5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

6. Pokemon Soul Silver

7. Final Fantasy VII

8. Paper Mario

9. Tales Of Vesperia

10. Earthbound

I have not started Xenoblade Chronicles, Valkyrie Chronicles, or Persona 4 yet. I have really high expectations for Ni No Kuni.

 

[ErasureAcer]

1. Xenogears (3 points)

A Wise Man(pun intended) once said, "Without great villains you don't have great heroes."

Spoiler

I just made up that saying

. Xenogears has great villains: A piece of "trash" who just wants to fulfill his very reason for existence; a tormented soul deprived of love and so all he knows is hate; a person who wishes no pain on anyone and wishes to return the world to nothingness...just to name a few. While Xenogears has a great cast of heroes, as many RPGs do, it's the villains that put the game over the bar and deserving of the title, best RPG ever.

Major flaw: The second disk being hurried.
Major plus(besides the villains): The vast story.

2. Final Fantasy VI

Major flaw: Characters all become the same by allowing them to learn the same spells.
Major plus: The 3-4 times throughout the game you're allowed to split up your party into groups as you tackle the challenge together thus making you care to use all your characters.

3. Chrono Trigger

Major flaw: Crono doesn't talk.
Major plus: Changing time.

4. Xenoblade

Major flaw: Besides Shulk, the cast could have been a lot more dynamic.
Major plus: The exploration.

5. Secret of Mana

Major flaw: Naming the sprite a girl's name when it's actually a boy.
Major plus: Saving Santa Claus.

6. Final Fantasy IV
7. Final Fantasy V
8. Final Fantasy VIII
9. Final Fantasy X
10. The Last Story

 

[aaaaaa]

Top 10
Dragon Quest V
Final Fantasy VI (3 points)
Chrono Trigger
Xenogears
Final Fantasy VIII
Planescape: Torment
Vagrant Story
Final Fantasy XII
The World Ends With You
Xenoblade Chronicles

Honorable Mentions
Ultima IV
Soul Blazer
Fallout 2
Nier
Desktop Dungeons

Comments might come later.

 

[ULTROS!]

1) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (3 points) - A classic that tops a lot of JRPGs. I've (re)played it recently and it's very much memorable. At this time and age, I can say this game tops almost all the JRPGs I've played.

2) Final Fantasy X - A great JRPG back in the early 2000. Its dramatic and enthralling story make it great together with the great looking and well directed scenes.

3) Suikoden II - A JRPG that stands out because it focuses on war and politics and it's pretty much mature. Also it's pretty heartfelt. Though badly translated, it's still very much a classic.

4) Star Ocean: The Second Story - I love this game so much because there's a lot to do. It's juicy on the extras, it has great music, and the locations are very relaxing and breathtaking. The cooking skill was my favorite.

5) Earthbound - It's quirky and you can snicker a lot to the jokes here. It's also heartfelt and pretty much strange towards the end.

6) Chrono Trigger - A great and timeless game. One of the most memorable stories out there and it had truly aged well.

7) Kingdom Hearts II - Even the story was whacked, it had a lot of worlds, a lot of content, and a lot of Disney compared to Kingdom Hearts.

8) Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - A very lighthearted and whimsical game and this is probably where lighthearted games started out.

9) Parasite Eve - A perfect mix of horror and JRPG. I loved the theme (sci-fi horror) not to mention the monsters and transformations were cool.

10) Xenogears - This game has a very heavy and very good story. Not to mention the music is pretty much top-notch.


Honorable Mentions:
11) Mother 3
12) Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
13) Final Fantasy VI
14) Dragon Quest V
15) Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

 

[Sapphire Dreams]

1) Suikoden II: (3 points)

Released in 1999 for the original Playstation, Suikoden II while it lacks the high production values of games like Final Fantasy VIII and Vagrant Story, still contains one of the best experiences one could have with an RPG, it has in incredible storyline, nifty character designs that's a bit more grounded in reality yet still feels imaginative, fantastic combat and a pleasing soundtrack to boot, it's an experience you'll never forget.

2) Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn:

If you're looking for an isometric RPG, this release is the best one, excellent writing , deep combat mechanics, diverse RPG elements and a solid art direction, it remains to be Bioware's best game even after 12 years after it's release.

3) Deus Ex:

Also released in the year 2000, Deus Ex was a ground breaking title, not only the storyline tackles some deep philosophical questions,it has a lot of depth and complexity to it in terms on design and gameplay mechanics, the player has a lot of choices if he wants to stealth his way to his objectives or go head on and kill everyone on sight, it is to this day one of the best examples of level design in the medium and one of the great examples of how to make a proper stealth game and a cyberpunk RPG.

4) Final Fantasy IX:

Combines best of both worlds, the aesthetics of old school Final Fantasy games with the graphics and gameplay of the more modern ones, it has likable and diverse characters, amazing soundtrack, fantastic gameplay, variety in locations and a satisfying ending, which is rare these days.

5) The Witcher:

Based on the book series of the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The Witcher is a mature RPG that don't have your typical RPG storyline as in almost nobody is truly evil or truly, it handles mature themes gracefully , it contains hard decisions that actually matter in the long run, gameplay may not the best but when you get used to it, it's quite endearing.

6) Mass Effect 1:

I don't care if this game is flawed, this game does world building right, it was the perfect introduction to the Mass Effect universe and planted the seed to tons of potential for games to come, even if the sequels fell short in terms of depth and ambition.

7) The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim :

Sure, it my not be the deepest RPG, but Skyrim contains a very beautiful open world that begs to explored , it does not hand-hold you through scripted story events or set-pieces, you have the freedom to do whatever you like, it is a breath of fresh air in the shooter generation.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

I specifically did not make a "3 pointer" as the first two are tied in my mind. My list is exactly the same as last year, but I'm tossing out an honorable mentions list and purty pichurs.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

One of the finest RPGs ever made, it benefitted from a smooth transition to 3D, a more open morality/path system, flawless art-to-graphics transitions, Shoji Meguro's awakening as one of gaming's best composers, and the debut of the illustrious Press Turn Battle System.

It is Atlus at the height of their powers: battle system, dungeon design, artwork, music, everything; when I started this up on Christmas Day, 2004, I knew Square had been dethroned.

Vagrant Story

Another magnum opus. About the only thing it lacked was a quick-switch feature mapped to R1 or L1 for weapons. To think, this title was changed drastically after having had its funding curtailed halfway thru development yet emerged this magnificently!

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

An excellent update on the 1995 classic with some brilliant new features to complement the brilliant features from its original release. The orchestral soundtrack to beat, and a tale borne of the ugliest wars of mankind's history told with knowing grace. Masterful is the hand of Matsuno.

Demon's Souls

A game exceedingly strong in all areas: narrative, VA, tuning, mechanics, combat, music, art direction. Immense replayabilty and mystery. The fact it stands strong as a beacon against the superstition and Dogma that runs unchecked in the recent game industry is icing on the cake.

Suikoden II

Another PS1 Classic. Suikoden I's world taken to its logical and game design maximum perfectly. Well-played dark narrative. Excellent use of a fast, easy, light-weight battle systemIt is so rare (and apparently impossible) to craft worlds like this over several games. It needed the right to continue (for real; none of this Tierkreis BS).

Etrian Odyssey II

Even in a RPG list, yada yada. A fine evolution of EO1, but without EO3's oversoftened edges and game-breaking subclassing. Updating dungeon crawlers away from the clunk of yore with outstanding ergonomics yet still made you plan and work and seek. A poster boy for Neutral Dungeon Master Game Design with cute, colorful, detailed art and yet another delicious Koshiro OST of awesomeness trying their damnedest to distract you from the brutal indifference of the Labyrinth.

Persona 4

A JRPG. A game steeped Japanese EVERYTHING. About teenagers saving the day. Yet, somehow, it's the least egrarious about all JRPGs that visit these conditions. May have the finest cast ensemble ever assembled in an RPG. Magnificent job interweaving the various facets of the game so that they influence each other without crippling yourself for ignoring one completely. Has a 5 hour intro that feels like 5 minutes (OTHER DEVS TAKE NOTES FOR GODS SAKE).

Final Fantasy VI

Another masterpiece of its respective series, and Squaresoft when they were Kingmakers. Chock full of secrets, a genuinely interesting tale with both drama and comedy, orbited by a great cast. Great bad guy and his final boss theme is the best of all time, hands down.

Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2

Home of some of the best cutscenes (and some of the most fucked upon fucked events within them as well) in RPGs. The attention to detail and creativity is outstanding (just watch how Heat and Argilla talk in demon form). Great combat, great soundtracks. Overlooked gems, sadly.

World of Warcraft

Particularly around 2.4, where they zinged the balance between Risk-Reward and Effort-Payoff and before they started feeling the influence of metric-manipulation and other toxic influences. Amazingly responsive combat that is only just now being superseded as the best in the business, and that's only because of a number of ARPG titles hitting the scene.

Few get the many reasons why it was so great (just watch WoW threads!), and is seen by fans as the reliable success they can and would want to hop back into when others are found wanting.

Unranked Honorable Mentions:

Breath of Fire V
Extremely involved battle system/encounter design and mechanics. A mustplay for anyone who understands RPG mechanics

Skies of Arcadia
Pure happy bliss (once the encounter rate is nerfed...) There need to be more of these simple, light-hearted, earnest adventures in JRPGs again.

Planetscape Torment
Writing so good it makes up for the snoozefest combat and questionable character design. Dialogue wasa breath of fresh air that avoided hollow snark and had a lot of layering to meaning, which I like.

Dark Souls
Is not in the top 10 due to losing steam down the stretch. Everything else is 150% awesome, of course.

Suikoden 1

Short, sweet, and a masterful soundtrack. A must play; it's 15 hours well-spent.

Witcher 2
Excellent world, characters, and pacing. Can't wait on W3 and whatever else the members of this do.

Disgaea 1
Nin nin nin!

Makai Kingdom
NI's best game hands down. Hammy as fuck VA, eclectic music, completely revolutionary mechanics, and Artful Dodger Thieves who use anal probing UFOs as weapons are further proof of its quality.

Xenoblade
Not the savior of JRPGs or whatever it gets saddled with, but a fun take on the mixing of two genres.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Another fine Matsuno classic. Deep, dark, and open, but I repeat myself. World class OST, too.

Star Ocean 2
The sheer number of things you can do outside of battle in this thing beats most WRPGs. This isn't a commonly used statement about JRPGs one bit. Sakuraba's best OST.

Etrian Odyssey 1
Helped resurrect the DC in the west. Like EO2 but not as polished.

Etrian Odyssey 3
Continued to add interesting features and modes to the EO formula. A little easy to break though.

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Feelies and great humor only add to the great game L:SSS was. A cherished game treasure of mine.

Trails in the Sky: First Chapter
A wonderful tale that does a slow burn right. Excellent dialogue and a world that breathes and functions as it was designed to.

Chrono Trigger
One of the best games ever made. One of the most revolutionary, as well. No list is complete without it, no gaming career without having had beaten it.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment
Unfun combat and character building rendered largely moot by the low tuning do nothing to stop a mighty foursome of outstanding characters, music, art, and hi-octane fucked story.

Tales of Graces f
Best ARPG battle system ever crafted, flashy and functional. Character building system is one of the best as well. The rest? Eeee-yah...

Final Fantasy XII
Killing the Goose that Lays the Golden Egg: The Video Game

Chrono Cross
Best soundtrack of all time, past, present, and future. Amazingly colorful world, interesting combat. Don't think too hard about the plot.

Front Mission 3
Did a great job melding mech gaming to the SRPG genre, maintaining the feel of 30foot tall engines of destruction. Interesting take on near-future world making for a neat plot. SE killed this franchise too. :\

Grandia 1
Such a tightly-tuned battle system. Dom Ruins are easily one of the best dungeons ever made if the journey to them is taken into account.

Radiant Historia
A tightly-woven game with strongly functioning parts humming along as a well-made whole. Stocke is one of the new gold standards for RPG protag.

Tales of Vesperia
A surprisingly good cast (once you jettison Raven and Karol), interesting battles as per Tales' way. Yuri is the other gold standard.

Legend of Grimrock
Small budget, large presence. Nice use of puzzles, too.

Shadowbane
Polished? Would the wee prince like his peas mashed with a spoon next? We're playing to CRUSH here! Extremely open character building system along with a heavily social and political-based gameplay world.

Pokemon White 2

Gateway drug to EV-grinding, chain-Repelling, Elektross/Krookodile/Weezing Quake Cheese Teaming, Gotta Catch "em All goodness.

Final Fantasy VIII

Such a well-realized world. I still like to say the look is what Square's console efforts this generation have been inadvertently failing to recapture over and over again. Uematsu's 2nd best OST, too.

I'd like to give a little about me and RPG's before I give my list. So I've been playing video games as far as I can remember, I've played the NES, Genesis, N64 and so forth, but I never really got into the RPG for a few reasons, both stemming from the fact that I've been a console gamer my whole life, I suppose.

The first is that I really have never had much of an interest in JRPG's. I don't know if it was because I had a N64/Genesis instead of a PS1/SNES, and missed out on the boat with Final Fantasy VII/VI, but I just never really could get into them. As a matter of fact I'm still trying to find a JRPG today that captures my attention like the games on my list. I'm still waiting for that special game, but I guess I've picked a rotten time to start, as this generation hasn't been especially kind to the JRPG genre from what I've heard. Games like FF XIII couldn't really keep me interested due to their lackluster combat and completely yawn-inducing and laughable stories.

Friend, my list is the answer to your affliction. Come! Join us in revelry of the Matsuno, Megaten, Maruyama, and Miyazaki Goodness™!

 

[Espresso]

My top 5 from this generation (who isn't familiar with the classics by now?):

1. The Last Story (Wii)

Spoiler

(3 points)

2. Xenoblade (Wii)

3. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)

4. Jeanne d'Arc (PSP)

5. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (Wii)

 

[Sir Garbageman]

In Order:

Mass Effect 1 (3 points) - My favorite game across any genre, warts and all. Clunky and flawed yet few games have gripped me as completely as ME has. From the first mission to the final confrontation its just a pure joy to play. Love the setting for the trilogy and the host of memorable characters that inhabit it. Honestly all three entries in the series (yes even ME3 with it's shitty ending) are in my top 10, but the first is still my favorite and for variety's sake I'll exclude the subsequent games.
Baldur's Gate 2 - The epitome of the D&D party based RPG. Insane amount of content between all the NPCs, subquests, locations, etc. The sheer volume of classes, enemy types, spells, buffs, conditions, items, skills, weapons, etc. that make up the combat sandbox is practically unheard of this day and age. Great plot and NPCs on top of it all. A classic. Go for the eyes Boo, go for the eyes! AAAARGH
Final Fantasy: Tactics - The definitive SRPG. Extremely deep class and interesting class system (until you recruit TG Cid that OP maniac), challenging encounters and surprisingly mature story.
Chrono Trigger - The definitive JRPG. Fun battle system, great characters, great plot, ridiculously fantastic music it and still looks good to this day. Some genuinely touching moments throughout the game as well which never hurt.
Dark Souls - The best action RPG I've ever played. Mysterious and challenging with an excellent weighty and brutal combat system. Old school in the best way possible.
Dragon Age: Origins - 50% KOTOR + 50% BG2 = one of the best wrpgs of all time. Great cast of characters and the VAs (Morrigan especially) do a wonderful job in bringing your party members to life.
The Witcher 2 - Stunningly beautiful game with a fantastic main character, Geralt. The combat system and skill trees are extremely fun, all wrapped around a mature story with an interesting cast of characters.
KOTOR - Just a fun, all around solid RPG that does everything right. Also has an excellent story that is chock full of surprises. Also contains one of the best NPCs in a game in any genre, HK-47.
Guild Wars 2 - One of the few multiplayer RPGs that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Does just enough to evolve the MMO space where even non-fans of the genre will find something to enjoy. Excellent sense of exploration as you go from zone to zone. The speed of combat and the addition of a dodge adds just enough action elements to keep you on on your toes compared to more traditional MMOs. Looks absolutely beautiful as well.
Planescape: Torment - One of my favorite main story arcs of any game, across any genre. Set in one of the most interesting and peculiar worlds ever to grace a video game. If it wasn't for the sub-par combat would definitely be higher on the list. What can change the nature of a man?

Honorable Mentions:
Alpha Protocol, Final Fantasy 7, Mass Effect 2 & 3, Vampire; The Masquerade Bloodlines, Dues Ex:HR

 

[Acidyl]

1) Baldur's Gate 2: shadows of Amn - This entire series is basically the best there is. It set the standards for future rpg's so high that not even Bioware themselves have been able to fully reach them again. Extremely long, Extremely fun all the way.

2) The Witcher 2 - the best of the newer generation of action-exploring rpg's. A varied set of skills, intense combat, awesome OST and graphics.

3) Deus Ex - This classic basically writes the book on how to do a action-oriented, first-person rpg. Great story, music, levels, rpg skills, PLAY THIS.

4) Fallout 3 - Putting this above Skyrim due to high lack of scifi rpg's, looks gorgeous on highest settings, some prefer new vegas, but that was just one huge bugfest for me.

5) The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - the latest in the ES series, the current standard on open world rpg. Great fun, but the northern ice world setting can get repetitive really fast.

6) Guild Wars 2 - the only mmo I currently would recommend, no paying for carrot on a stick, great classes, fun combat in pve and pvp, no need for cash store usage

7) Dragon Age: Origins - the story is lacking in depth, but the game is a proper and fun rpg experience. just make sure at least one party member knows a healing spell

8) Mass Effect - the first of the trilogy is the only one with some rpg aspects to it. Great story and gameplay, not every likes the mako levels but I sure prefer them to the boring mining game from Mass Effect 2.

9) Baldur's gate ( +3 since most will prefer the sequel) - the savior of pc rpg. PLAY THIS SERIES.

10) Icewind Dale - A super dungeon crawler using the engine of the baldur's gate games. more action-oriented, lesser of a rpg, but a must play all the same.


Honorable mentions:

- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - If you like or find the original game to old, this is a great prequel/alternative. Pretty much does everything right like the first deux ex did, not sure if its pure nostalgic or not that makes me have the first one in my top 10 and not this one
- Planescape torment - Divined by some, despised by others. As full as a rpg experience can be, this one takes time and patience to fully experience it.
- Diablo 3 - A series no longer worthy of top 10 unfortunately. This third one had it's fair share of launch and gameplay issues, somewhat killing it's legacy it was doomed to not reach from the start. Still top spot as Action RPG - probably better enjoyable if diablo is a fresh series for you.
- Vampire the masquerade - bloodlines - A rpg worthy of your time because of the story setting alone. Just make sure to get it patched with everything the modding community has to offer. And make many saves to recover when your game is stuck
- The Witcher - Worth playing at least once. Can be hard at times due to gameplay mechanics, but overall still a great game today.

 

[BlackJace]

Top 7

1) Chrono Trigger (Chrono Trigger DS can suffice)
Highly regarded as the best RPG of all time, as well as the best game. Rightfully so, might I add. What's fascinating about Chrono Trigger is how well it pulls off the time-travel aspect of it's masterful story. In addition, it's so cool to see how Lavos, the game's "villain", affects all time-periods.
The characters are awesome, the locales are varied, and the music and battle system are both superb.

2) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (+3 pts) (Persona 4: The Golden remaster can easily suffice)
Jesus, this game. This game has the best cast of any RPG. Yup. The battle system in this game is pretty standard fare, with some nice unique touches ("All-Out Attacks" never get old!) The story is pretty strong as well, love the mystery aspects. And the content. The CONTENT. You will be playing this game a minimum of 90 hours. The Social Links are a great way to screw around between dungeons.

3) Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Wow, what a damn sequel. Multiply everything you liked about Paper Mario by 10. The story is deeper and darker, and the battle system takes a deeper plunge with more partner actions and special items. Also, next to Kid Icarus: Uprising, I think TTYD is one of Ninty's best written titles.

4) Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (PSP re-release can suffice)
This is the best Strategy RPG of all time. Fire Emblem and Advance Wars, you guys are great, but this game outclasses you both. Hours and hours of high fantasy strategy goodness.


5) Pokemon Gold/Silver (Heart Gold and Soul Silver remakes can suffice)
Gen 2 FTW. The peak of the series for me. I love the other generations, but Johto was such a nice region to enjoy. the best music of the series as well. With two regions to explore, hours and hours of adventuring awaits.


6) Dark Souls (Prepare To Die Edition w/ Durante's fix can suffice)
Very, VERY close to being the best Action RPG of all time. Dark Fantasy perfectly realized. You will die, and it will be amazing.


7) Final Fantasy IV (The Complete Collection remaster can suffice)
This FF title always seems to be left out, can't figure out why though. I think I really enjoyed the game for the story and the bond between Cecil and Kain. Nothing TOO special, but it was a nice ride.


Honorable Mentions

1) Kingdom Hearts II
Absolutely fucked up story. Makes no real sense, and stinks of a bad fanfiction.
However the battle system is slick and responsive, featuring what I believe to be the most satisfying melee-impact feeling. Also, the Disney worlds are beautifully crafted and a joy to explore.

2) Blue Dragon
Fundamentally a good game, but does absolutely nothing to differentiate itself from other RPGs. Still a multi-disc epic with DBZ-inspired art that I can easily recommend.

3) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The most detailed open-world to explore in gaming thus far. Unfortunately, the lack of depth in its RPG elements disappoint, considering, you know, it's an RPG.

Unranked Honorable Mentions

Persona 3
Final Fantasy VII
Demon's Souls
Tales of Graces F
Tales of Xillia 1 and 2
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

 

[SquiddyCracker]

The Winners

1) Planescape: Torment - I haven't even finished this game (but I'm almost there, so I'd say I've seen enough to be able to make a judgement) and have come to the conclusion that it is the best RPG ever made.

2) Neverwinter nights 1: Hordes of the Underdark & Neverwinter nights 1 & Neverwinter nights 1: Shadows of Undrentide - Beautiful game, with awesome customization - making it playable way beyond the end of the campaign. With this game, Bioware made their best contribution to the genre of non-isometric 2D RPG games. This slightly unpolished game remains a classic to this day, offering countless of hours of pure D&D fun both in and outside of the masterful campaign. Also, Deekin!

3) Neverwinter nights 2: The Mask of the Betrayer & Neverwinter nights 2 - Gorgeous setting and an extremely well-crafted story and character gallery. Whilst not as good as NWN1, this game was extremely customizable and offered the player more choices than a Swedish buffet. Memorable characters such as Neeshka made it quite a memorable game, and the player's castle is still affecting RPG's made to this day!

4) The Witcher - Oh, you silly Polish game developers! The gratuitious nudity and odd-ball fantasy in this game combined with a choice-system that does not fall into the trap of "blue/green/red"-hell with a story that shocks and intruiges, makes this game a strong contender for the best RPG ever!

5) Golden Sun - It is final fantasy, but without the relics of the FF-genre bogging the game down. Everything makes sense (why are there Chocobos in every single FF game? Sorry, I won't buy it), the story is good and thought-provoking, and the combat system amazing (the Djinns are wonderful little Poke-esque creatures that power your magical spells!).

6) Pokemon Gold/Silver - Yep, it counts. Treat every Pokemon's four moves as a magical spell, and you soon realize that you're dealing with an RPG combat system of unparalleled complexity (especially when you take into account the various attributes and stats of the pokemons, immunities and such). In addition to a masterpiece of a combat system, Gold/Silver actually had a really interesting story (Red/blue was okay, but pretty vanilla, and I've yet to play Black2/White2).

7) Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The only sci-fi RPG I will recognize, and it was pretty damn legit. Of all the "narrow-choices, stereotypical tropes"-modern RPG's out there (Mass effect, Dragon age), this one rises above the crop of shit by smashing conventional story telling boundaries and being fresh.


Honorable Mentions

8) City of Heroes - One of the best MMO's ever crafted, and my very first one. Unfortunately, it was shut down just a couple of days ago, so I'm afraid it'll never become more than a fond memory *sheds a sorrowful tear*

 

[-Stranger-]

Posting my initial list now, but i will continue to edit and work on it.
I will also add write ups for each game.
This was actually really hard to narrow down, and I've left out heaps of great RPG's.

1. Persona 4
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Mass Effect 2
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
5. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
6. Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey of the Cursed King
7. Final Fantasy X
8. Final Fantasy VIII
9. Valkyria Chronicles
10. Tales of Symphonia

Honorable Mentions

- Pokemon Red
- Mass Effect
- Tales of Vesperia
- Persona 3: FES
- The Witcher 2

 

[Fjordson]

My list remains unchanged from last year. Love reading over everyone else's lists, though.

Fallout 1 [3 points]

For my money, the most interesting universe in gaming. So much lore, so many details, so many interesting characters packed into this game (into the entire series really) it's crazy. Fallout 1 and 2 were some of the first games that were able to affect me with their atmosphere. Insanely memorable from start to finish. This explanation is a bit bare, but I don't want to come anywhere close to spoiling why this series is so special. Definitely a watershed game for me that I think everybody should play. I could easily put Fallout 2 here. I feel like I prefer it most days of the week. Really tough decision, but I'll kick it off with the original.

Planescape: Torment

Probably not the best RPG combat out there at this point, but still the definition of essential. Some of the best writing, storytelling, and general atmosphere that I've ever experienced in video games. Chris Avellone is quite simply an RPG boss.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

I didn't play Bloodlines until earlier this year so it's still fresh in my memory, but what a great game. The setting and general premise with the multitude of different vampire clans living in present day is my probably favourite thing about it. Definitely a nice change of pace from the usual sci-fi/fantasy stuff. One of many notches on Tim Cain's golden RPG belt (not to discredit the many other talented people that were involved with Bloodlines).

Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Another great from Tim Cain and co. at Troika. Like Fallout, Arcanum features a phenomenal setting with some great characters and writing. I've always loved the Steampunk twist on fantasy that it provides and the dichotomy in the world between technology and magic. The combat isn't quite as strong as Fallout, and I feel like the technological side as far as character progression can be a little weak, but it's not that big a deal. Similar to a lot of other entries on this list, playing Arcanum means lots and lots of freedom as far as building your character and tackling quests throughout the world. The really, really big world. It wasn't great technically when it came out, but patched up today it's a sublime experience.

Baldur's Gate II

The pinncale of BioWare. It's tough for me to adequately communicate why this game is so legendary. Not just because I'm mediocre at writing this sort of thing, but so much has already been said about the game over the years. Definitely my favourite Infinity Engine game packed to the brim with interesting environments, top notch characters, and combat that still holds up surprisingly well.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Honestly, I could probably put Skyrim up here too, but I still think Morrowind is my favourite TES game. Something about the setting really got to me. It's certainly big time fantasy like the rest of the series, it's just...it's unique in a way that none of the other TES games have quite replicated. Also, the relatively relaxed presence of level and loot scaling is definitely preferable to what Bethesda's done since.

World of Warcraft

Maybe the most memorable experience on this list. Because in its prime, playing WoW wasn't just about how good the actual game was (and it was really good) but also about the social aspect of logging and hanging out with your friends. I had pretty close group of people that I played with for a good four years or so and it was consistently a total blast. My brother also played a lot, so that was a really fun way to basically "hang out" with him even though he lives somewhat far away.

Deus Ex

Provides true freedom to tackle the game pretty much any way you want. Something you don't see too much these days. And cyberpunk! Good ol' cyberpunk. Really wish more games would take advantage of this style of setting.

Diablo II

This counts right? Not my favourite on this list, but easily the most addictive. One of the first big multiplayer experiences of my life. Utterly stellar campaign with piles and piles of delicious loot. Definitely something that's never been matched for me, even by other loot games that have followed in Diablo's wake.

Fallout: New Vegas

I didn't want to double up on any series for the sake of variety, but I simply have to include this. It's too great. And of course, the current 3D Fallouts are fairly large departures from their isometric predecessors so I think it's okay here. Big draw for me is some of the best writing from any genre this generation and a fantastic use of the Fallout universe. Obsidian fucking nailed it in that regard. It's literally perfect. Really felt like a return to the atmosphere of the first two Fallouts. The great quests, the different factions, the music, the companions! It's all a Fallout fan could ask for.

 

[Hansel]

1. Harvest Moon 64
2. Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
3. Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
4. Harvest Moon: Boy and Girl
5. Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town
6. Harvest Moon: Back to Nature for Girl

Spoiler

I'm not joking

 

[hemtae]

I'm posting from a phone so I'll update with some sort of explanations later.

Planescape: Torment- Best written game bar none IMO. It shows how stats matter and how not all of an RPGs gameplay is in its combat system.

Baldur's Gate 2 - The quintessential party based RPG. I have up until recently believed bioware had always done a great job with party dynamics but this also includes decent writing and a crap load of quests.

Fallout 2 - I waffled between this and New Vegas a lot but ultimately this came on top because it was more post apocalypse-y without being all Fallout 3 about it.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - I had a hard time deciding between this and its sequel. While its sequel was better written and had some things refined, the ending was unfinished. The plot twist was just amazing.

Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal - Going back to Kanto was awesome, plus it tickles my OCD like nothing else with its whole gotta catch'em all stuff.

Dragon Quest V - It has the best turn based battle system in an RPG and the best story in a Dragon Quest

Final Fantasy VI - It's last mainline 2D entry remains the standard for all the games and one of the bastions of a decent story in a JRPG.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - It is the sing p shining example of how to do an open world RPG right. While its successors may have a bigger world, this has its lore intertwined plus it's packed with stuff to do and exploration is on part with and arguably exceeding the later games.

Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines - It's kinda like PS:T for me. A game that revolves around conversations rather than combat. Whereas PS:T uses text to describe what couldn't be seen, this games uses facial animations to show things that wouldn't work as well if written.

Skies of Arcadia - It waged an epic battle in my soul against Xenoblade and came out ahead in the end. It had worthwhile exploration, a kind of reputation system, and a light upbeat story when dark and gritty was all the rage in JRPGs then.

Honorable mentions:
Tales of the Abyss - Best Tales games
Baten Kaitos Origins - It had an interesting battle system and a decent story and a great localization. It improved upon its predecessors in nearly every way.
Dragon Age Origins - It was the last great RPG that Bioware made. It had some balancing problems and the class system was kinda meh. But the party interactions were pretty great and the world had some interesting parts to it.
Xenoblade - Most everything was great about it except the word "monado".
Neverwinter Nights 2 - Mask of the betrayer was one of the greatest RPGs campaigns to come out in recent memory. In fact I would argue it was the best. To bad the rest is good to bleh.

Still need to play:
Arcanum
Temple of the elemtal evil

 

[BrokenEchelon]

1) Final Fantasy VIII
Oh yes. Eight. VIII. 8. You need to do something before you play this game: ignore the people who bitch and moan and about the draw system. Instead, focus on the fact that this game is probably the most creative and innovative entry in the Final Fantasy series to date. It tried new combat mechanics, it spun some old mechanics into new designs. It added a card game that I have spent dozens of hours playing and would gladly buy as a standalone game. It played with the concept of summons, magic, items, money generation, and countless other things. What other Final Fantasy has you take a test to see how much income you earn? Of course it didn't all work out perfectly, but to somehow say that this game isn't a cohesive title that will easily see you from start to finish is ludicrous.

There's also the people who make incredibly witty jokes about how emo Squall is, because apparently it's a sin to have a character be an apathetic/jaded person. Here's another fun fact about him: he grows and changes as a person. He develops relationships, laughs, yells and cares about the people around him. He's got an attitude, and he's witty when he needs to be. Not to mention he's surrounded by a memorable cast of characters who each bring their own charm. Even the villains have charisma. Of course none of this is mentioned by the hordes who get to Ifrit's cave and decide that the game sucks.

The story is rather unique, featuring several twists and turns along the way which help to create such an enigmatic universe that I can think of few other titles with such an odd setting and turn of events. If you finish the game, and aren't satisfied by the excellent ending, you can always google

Spoiler

"Squall is dead"

and see if you like that theory more. It's certainly interesting.

There's a reason FF VIII is a love/hate game. You either allow it to properly express itself to you, come to realize just how many different and unique things it brings to the table, and grow to love it because of that, or you don't. You should give it an honest try though. It's still my favorite game of all time to this day, 13 years after its release.

2) World of WaCraft
One of the most fleshed out and comprehensive fantasy universes in the gaming industry. It draws inspiration from Tolkien, Warhammer, Norse Mythology, Lovecraft's Cthulu Mythos, and various other sources, yet remains unique in its spin of established fantasy fare. It made MMORPGs work for everyone because of that deep, enveloping world, but it kept people going because of its "easy to learn, difficult to master" gameplay approach. You got into a swing, going from zone to zone, earning new gear, levels, finding groups, and working your way to endgame. At that point the social game opened up, guilds were the only way to get into successful raids originally and created a very tight-knit group of players. It has changed a lot over the years, and to recount that history would take days. You won't experience the World of Warcraft that I experienced many years ago, but the current version of the game has streamlined the process of the game's methodology and is as inviting as ever.

3) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
This title hails from a time when BioWare made good games. It is one of the best Star Wars games ever made, has a thoroughly entertaining story and campaign, and let you run around the galaxy as a jedi/sith with a level of freedom that only Jedi Academy came close to achieving. It's the quintessential Star Wars game in many ways and one of the earlier examples of great WRPGs.

4) The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The level of freedom this game offered fused with the immensely interesting world you got to explore made it a title that you could just pour hours into and is still getting mod support years after its release. It had an intriguing story, leading you along the continent as you discovered the prophecy of the Nerevarine. The combat is still pretty awkward and choppy, but if you can get past the flaws (mods help) then you'll be treated to an expansive open world game that offers delightful quests and storylines around ever corner.

5) Chrono Trigger
Someone said it best in this thread when they said "It still feels like it came out yesterday". The combat system just works. It's like Square took everything that made the Final Fantasy games they had released work and rolled all the good stuff into one title. It has a memorable cast, interesting story, great music, and is one of the deepest games of the SNES era to be sure.

6) Final Fantasy Tactics
My reasoning is going to start getting pretty similar for these titles, but that's why they're on the list. Tactics offers an SRPG spin on the Final Fantasy formula, and does so triumphantly. It can be extremely unforgiving, but that made it that much more fun in my eyes; it was supposed to be about strategy, right? Coupled with a great story, neat class system, and the introduction to the world of Ivalice, this game simply has it all.

7) Planescape: Torment
I don't know what else to say about this game that hasn't already been said. The story is definitely a gem.



I'll add the rest of my list soon.

 

[Son1x]

Lunar: Eternal Blue (3 points) - Love the story and characters. One of the first JRPG's I ever finished and still my favorite. Iwadare made some nice soundtrack too.

Grandia - Might be my favorite battle system ever. Another game scored by Iwadare = win.

Diablo II - I've spent hours playing this after school back in the days. Loot, loot and loot! Never could get enough of it.

Phantasy Star IV - This game just surprised me a lot. I expected a good game, got an amazing one.

Mass Effect - Just hearing the menu music makes me remember all the good times with this series. I enjoyed the first one the most.

Pokemon Gold/Silver - Silver was the one I got. One of those games I even played in school a lot. And replayed later, on my phone, in high school as well.

Secret of Mana - Once again, interesting battle system that never bored me, and two best things about it: music and multiplayer.

Parasite Eve - Another one of the kind battle system that would never again be matched. The only major flaw is how short it is.

Valkyria Chronicles - I bought this game before I got a PS3 because I feared its gonna run out of stock and become really expensive. Never happened, but I don't regret buying it before.

Tales of the Abyss - It was either this or Vesperia, but Abyss has FoF changes, which are the best thing to ever happen to Tales series. Jade is fucking awesome too.

HM:

Lunar: The Silver Star - A game that introduced me to the Lunar series. One of those games I have fond memories of. Unfortunately, Lunar Legend was the first version of it I played.

Ar tonelico 2 - Another game I bought after reading some impressions for quite cheap. Ended up loving the game. Amazing soundtrack and I really liked the characters and story in it too.

 

[Dantis]

1) Persona 4

2) The Witcher 2

3) Persona 3

4) Digital Devil Saga (3 Points)

5) Mass Effect

6) Nier

7) Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

8) The Witcher

9) Breath of Fire IV

10) Golden Sun

 

[MrMephistoX]

1. KOTOR
2. ME1
3. FFVII
4.FFX
5.Xenoblade
6. Persona 4
7. Fallout 3
8. Chrono Trigger
9. Dragon Quest 8
10.Xenosaga 1

(I'd probably have FFVI on here too if I'd finished or played it before VII)

 

[Tizoc]

The following are the 10 Essential RGPs of my choice in no order whatsoever, I've also included a link to my fav. music track(s) from that game, if they're too much, let me know and I'll remove the links.

Main titles

1) Dragonball Z: Attack of the Saiyans [NDS]

Chances are this one might gone under the radar of many NDS and RPG fans. Attack of the Saiyans is retelling of the Saiyan Saga as a jRPG and it is a really good turn-based RPG. This was released during the early months of DBZ Kai's airing in Japan, and the game even features the Japanese voices. I don't want to spoil just HOW they managed to turn a fighting arc into a jRPG, but you can look forward to Yamcha and Krillin actually DOING something. Oh and the game also has a secret boss

Spoiler

Brolly

.
Battle theme

2) Dragon Quest VIII [PS2]

Perhaps my fav. DQ game of all time, and my first for that matter. Whenever I play I always plan ahead what to buy, sell off and keep for alchemy. Boomerang FTW. Really wish this'd get released on PSN or as an HD collection to 360 and other consoles. Among my favourite things about the English release is the voice acting which is very well done IMO.
Boss Battle theme

3) Final Fantasy IX [PSX, also available on PSN]

Perhaps my fav. FF game of all time, even if the combat isn't all that impressive and how effin' slow it is, it'll always have a place in my heart. I loved the music, the characters and the world/setting.
Rose of May

4) Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes [NDS, Steam, PSN and XBL] (3 points)

My Civilization. CoH is IMO an under-rated RPG+Puzzle hybrid, and creating chains and linking units is fun, it also helps that the 2D graphics are vibrant, colorful and animate very well on an HDTV. Really wish they'd make a sequel or make a new game based on the concept. The Steam version doesn't utilize UPlay BTW.

5) Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story [NDS]

This game is a tie with the first M&L game for 2 reasons: Bowser and Fawful. Bowser really shines in this game and his segments are my fav. even though he's the only one to play with in battles for the most part, but you're playing as THE Villian of Video Game Villains who decemates his enemies with a Single Punch or Burninates them to a crisp. It also has MORE Fawful as he's my fav. character in the series. Of course the Mario and Luigi parts aren't bad themselves, and the game has great graphics and music.
In the final (Final Boss battle theme)

6) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga [GBA]

Apparently this game marks the first time Luigi stars WITH Mario in a Mario game in a long time. This game is still among my fav. RPG game and I loved the combat concept and music. The humor and dialog is well written, and it excels with having Fawful who must have a PhD in Wooleyism. This game is prob. the longest of the 3 games, but man was the final battle tough.
Battle theme
...and Boss Battle theme

7) Costume Quest [PSN, XBL & Steam]

A simplistic Turn based combat RPG with a halloween theme. Double Fine did an excellent job with this game, while it doesn't introduce anything new to the genre as far as I know, it's a must play primarly due to the setting/theme and how well DF managed to make it work for an RPG.

8) Megaman X: Command Mission [PS2 & Gamecube]

I haven't played this in YEARS but even though it's an unremarkable turn based RPG, it was a good effort from Capcom at the time. I like all the characters introduced and would love to see a sequel that improves upon it and gives more depth to the characters.
X's theme

9) Rogue Galaxy [PS2]

Oh man I really loved this game, but Sandstorm was too OP it made battles end quickly haha. Great graphics, characters, gameplay concept is good and wonderful music. Among my fav. PS2 games, and would love for a re-release.
Exploder 1
Exploder 2

10) Breath of Fire IV [PSX, also available on PSN]

My fav. BoF game, it seems fandom is divided between 3 and 4 as being the best. Part of why 4's my favourite has to do with how it is actually my first game in the series itself. I really liked FouLu but my memory of the ending is rather hazy... Furthermore I like all characters equally, but apparently the English release had changes from the japanese ver.
Khan's theme
...and I just now realized that BoF4's music is very asian

Honorable mentions:

1) Riviera: The Promised Land [Wonderswan, GBA & PSP]
Played the GBA version first and NEVER knew it had Dating Sim elements lol. It has some nice graphics and the music is VERY good. I recommend getting the PSP ver. and play it on your Vita if possible as it also comes with JPN dub.
Battle theme

2) Legend of Legaia [PSX]
Released at the same time as Final Fantasy IX, the game had an interesting combat system but actual battles tend to take long and feel boring. Pulling off various combos is pretty cool however.

3) Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll [PS3 & X-box 360]
An action RPG from Bamco that I feel didn't get a lot of recognition, you can mix up various attacks and change what your main attacks are. I've forgotten what the story is about exactly, and never really cared, but did enjoy it for the most part, even though the majority of missions were reptitive.

4) Digimon World Dusk & Dawn [NDS]
These were among the last Digimon games released in English to my knowledge, and are an improvement over the first Digimon DS game.

5) Final Fantasy VI [SNES/PSX & GBA]
Among my top 5 fav. FF games, GBA ver. although it's more for story than gameplay, I believe the level up system is more focused on using Esper bonuses to be stronger instead of you increasing your stats.
Sabin & Edgar's theme

Unranked Honorable mentions:
Yowza...dunno why I ended up mentioning so many...@_@

Megaman Battle Network 1 aka Rockman.exe 1 [GBA] Boss battle theme
Chrono Trigger [NDS, PSX & SNES] Frog's theme, forever epic
Digimon World 2 [PSX] Boss Battle theme #1, Boss battle theme #2
Final Fantasy V [GBA] Gilgamesh battle theme
Final Fantasy IV [iOS/DS and PSP] The 4 Fiends' boss theme DS ver.
Final Fantasy II [PSP, GBA & PSX] Battle theme A, PSP ver.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 [PS3 & X-box 360] SO YOU THINK YOU CAN RIDE THIS CHOCOBO?!?!, also has my fav. battle theme in an FF game though
Final Fantasy XIII [PS3 & X-box 360] Saber's edge
FF Tatics Advance [GBA]
Final Fantasy XII: R. Wings [NDS]
Lufia II [SNES] Boss Battle theme
Mass Effect 1 [Steam, PS3 & X-box 360]
Mass Effect 2 [Steam, PS3 & X-box 360] Forever the model of a Scientist Salarian
Valkyria Chronicles 1 [PS3] Most epic final boss theme? Most epic final boss theme
Mario & Luigi: Partners in time [NDS]
Final Fantasy VII [PSX, available on PSN] Cosmo Canyon theme is nostoglia for me...
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars [SNES, VC]
Dragon Quest IV [NDS]
Dragon Quest V [NDS, PS2]
Dragon Quest VI [NDS]
Final Fantasy I [GBA, PSP & PSX]

 

[Serra]

1) Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn (3 points)
An expansive cast of characters, great writing and a massive amount of sidequests guarantee I lose a enormous amount of time when I start a new playthrough. Bombastic music too!

2) The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
A huge handcrafted exotic island to explore was so awesome. The culture and customs of the Dunmer clashing with the expansion of the empire was a very interesting backdrop. Getting caught in a ashstorm the first time was so awesome. The weather effects, especial thunder, are superb as is the water. The magic/alchemy system is quite interesting and the game uses that to its advantage. Having to use a potion or a spell to levitate each time I wanted to talk to a particular NPC was quite memorable. The amount of quality mods adding everything from new sound effects, graphics, quests, items, mounts to housing is mind boggling.

3) Deus Ex
The amount of different playstyles to complete objectives is astounding. I stealthed my way through every nook and cranny of every level, read every notepad. The Illuminati conspiracy storyline was also pretty crazy, yet it somehow worked. The main character has some really good asshole dialogue options too.

4) Mass Effect
Saren (and the council) is such a great nemesis. Meeting sovereign is one of my favorite conversations in any game, ever. I love the lens flare, armoured bodysuits and synthpop soundtrack. A very satisfying conclusion too.

5) The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Sorceresses taking their clothes off with a spell coupled with amazing graphics. Everyone calling you by some variation of "honky". A world that has no pure right and wrong, only shades of gray. Some very good dry humour.

6) Dark Souls
YOU DEFEATED! A unique experience. Hard but fair with a extremely precise combat system that rewards patience and timing. A very memorable game thanks to a great art style, boss encounters that leave you shaking with adrenaline and a supremely lonely world to explore. Communicating with other players only via emotes and written notes on the ground it makes for a very interesting coop and pvp experience. The PC release fixes framerate issues and makes the game look gorgeous when some horsepower and DSfix is thrown at it.

7) System Shock 2
Amazing sound effects and atmosphere. I jumped out of my chair when I met the first psychic monkey. SHODAN is one of my favorite villains of all time. This game stands the test of time remarkably well, especially with highres mods.

8) Dragon Age: Origins
Conversations take a turn for the hilarious when the main character is covered in blood. Really enjoyed the combat, especially when you have multiple mages in the group. The characters and writing were hit and miss, some were quite interesting and others totally cliched. Play this on the PC, the console versions are easier and gimped in a few critical ways.

9) Mass Effect 2
Vastly improved action sequences and cutscenes, interesting characters and a more personal story compared to the original compensate for several streamlined systems and a plot that ultimate does not move series storyline ahead that much. Renegade femshep fo' life!

10) Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Great setting. This game scratched the same itch as Deus Ex, which is just exploring urban environments and reading every book, terminal and notepad.

HM:
Planescape: Torment - Great characters and dialogue. Combat was annoying though.
Icewind Dale 2 - The best combat of any infinity engine game. That is high praise!
Alpha Protocol - The first game to really make me feel like a secret agent. Many flaws but ultimately the story, dialogue (particularly the "jerk" options) and degree that your actions affect the storyline make this a great game.
The Witcher - Quite different from the second Witcher but still great. Even more investigating and social engagement.
Risen - Great opening hours and a very interesting world to explore. Combat system takes time to get used to.

 

[Tiu Neo]

1. Harvest Moon 64
2. Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
3. Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
4. Harvest Moon: Boy and Girl
5. Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town
6. Harvest Moon: Back to Nature for Girl

Spoiler

I'm not joking

I really hope at least one HM game makes it to the top. Very unique games.

 

[LTWheels]

1. Final Fantasy IX (3 points)
This was the game that brought the RPG genre to my attention. The game encapsulated my imagination with its fantastic music and art style. Great story that is fun and light hearted with good characters. I have not interest in the science-fantasy settings of more recent Final Fantasy games and long for another throwback like FFIX.

2. Persona 3
I had very little expectations going into this game. My knowledge of the Persona series amounted to watching a few episodes of Giant Bomb's endurance run of Persona 4. The game weaves traditional dungeon crawling at night with a semi-open world exploration of the city during the day. There is an interesting mix of a dual character progression. Not only are you focusing on leveling up your character and combat skills but conversational paths with other characters during the daytime develops the relationships between the characters of which the progression feeds back into the combat system. All in all it is a very long but enjoyable experience. The first time you see someone raise a gun to their head is very shocking but sets the tone for an exciting adventure.

3. World of Warcraft
Don't ask me to type /played...I would rather not know. I have played WoW from towards the end of BC to mid Cata. My reasons for stopping were not that I was bored with the game but I just don't have the time any more to play a subscription fee game. WoW gets so much correct, things that you take for granted when you release they are missing in other mmo. From the fantastic scalable art design, fantastic music; to the seamless world and responsive combat. I have always enjoyed how every expansion they revamp the combat system changing mechanics of the classes to keep everything fresh. Draenei, Gnomes and Dwarfs 4 life.

4. Pokemon Red/Blue/Green
The OG of handheld monster mania. Don't be brought by the big dragon on the red box, the real cool kids bought the Blue version. To this day if I ever play a Pokemon game my Ash's Pikachu is Starmie. Icebeam, Surf, Thunderbolt, Psychic. Come at me bro.

5. Mass Effect 1
I prefer Mass Effect 1 over its sequels despite the inadequacies of its combat system compared to its offspring. It has the best plot and locations of the Mass Effect trilogy. ME3 is so bland and boring in comparison, I never got passed the first act. The conversation system also seems to be more fleshed out than its sequels. ME3 is a disgrace with no neutral options. Just don't kill Wrex.

6. Dragon Age Origins
Dragon Age Origins is my Baldur's Gate. Crank up difficulty to max, play from top down view, turn off tactics, pause, issue commands, pause, issue commands. That was my Dragon Age experience. The game has some good characters, especially Morrigan. Game has tons of replayability with the different origins story. The expansion pack is quite good as well. Just don't play the sequel.

7. Guild Wars 1

8. Guild Wars 2

9. Final Fantasy IV

10. Lost Odyssey


Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Xcom
Final Fantasy Tactics
Witcher 2
Diablo 3

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

Pretty much echoing the games everyone else has mentioned here, but:

1) Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn (+3)

The brilliance of Baldur's gate is the quality of the whole package - the tactical combat, exploration, stats and loot, characters, dialogue and sound design all come together with the engaging plot to make what is for me the 'best' RPG.

2) Planescape: Torment

A game that can actually change your philosophy.

3) Deus Ex

Hong Kong. 'Nuff said.

4) Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines

A unique game. Great sense of setting, brilliant writing, reactivity and interesting skills. There are a couple of poor rushed sections, but for me they are completely diminished by the rest of the game.

5) The Witcher

Atmosphere, choice and consequence and characterisation are what elevates this game. I was not ready for its uncompromising world and characters, which are so refreshing.

6) Pokémon Red/Blue

Classic. Ties into so many innate parts of our desires and crafts an epic journey of complex combat and customisation.

7) World of Warcraft

It truly is a world. Good, bad, imperfect and glorious.

8) Dragon Age: Origins

The scope of the game with its different origin stories make for an engaging world full of attention to detail, and still has some of the best NPC interaction and banter around.

9) Mass Effect 2

It never felt so enjoyable to be space jesus. I appreciated the greater focus on the characters in this sequel to the first game, even if the over-arching plot itself isn't as engaging as ME1, the improved combat and characters make up for it.

10) Skyrim

Skyrim actually feels like a land of its own, and Bethesda nailed the feeling of being let loose to just get lost in the land and do your own thing.

Honourable mentions: The Witcher 2, Knights of the Old Republic II, Alpha Protocol

 

[Spirit Icana]

1.)

Golden Sun - watch video

2.)

Atelier Ayesha -watch video

3.)

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance -watch opening

4.)

Resonance of Fate -watch funny/creepy video

5.)

Atelier Totori -watch epic battle!

Essentials, all of them!

 

[kswiston]

I see that a few people have included more than 5 honorable mentions. Remember, if you want them to count for a point, you need to limit you honorable mentions to 5. You can include any additional games in a separate category called "Unranked Honorable Mentions", and you can include as many games as you wish in that section. When I am tallying everything, I will be disqualifying HM lists that are over 5 games unless you made the separation mentioned above.


Feel free to continue adding pictures or music links to your posts if you want to. As long as you keep it within the realm of sanity (people don't want to scroll through a post with 30-50 images), it doesn't make things any harder on my end.


It's great to read all of these lists. I hope we continue to get more participants over the next couple of weeks, as I would like to get at least 200 voters again. That seems to be able the threshold needed for a diverse top 100. If you aren't agreeing with what you have seen from most people so far, submit your own list and explain why those games deserve more love. Otherwise don't bitch when you see the results on Dec 29th-Dec 30th

 

[TheExodu5]

1) Dark Souls (3 points) - A massive interconnected world with the best melee combat system in an RPG. The lore, sound design, art, and the way the world comes together make this one of the best RPGs in existence.

2) Final Fantasy VI - This one's my baby. Nostalgia is part of it, but Final Fantasy VI has some things that other games can only aspire to. The soundtrack is still the finest soundtrack in video game history. The characters, and especially the main villain, are memorable and are a big part of what makes this game so great. The game structure is also interesting and ambitious, particularly in the latter portion of the game.

3) Persona 4 - A fantastic cast, great pacing despite the incredible length of the game, great soundtrack, and one of the best turn based battle systems in JRPGs.

4) Chrono Trigger - An incredibly solid traditional JRPG and well worth the praise it gets.

5) Demon's Souls (3 points) - The lesser of the two Souls game. Though it lacks the interconnected world of Dark Souls, it's still a fantastic game in every right.

6) Lufia II - An often overlooked title. Lufia II was ahead of its time in many ways. The semi turn based dungeon navigation worked very well, and the Zelda-esque puzzles made dungeons genuinely interesting.

-----

The following fit into my top 10, although I have yet to beat any of them. For one reason or another, I was distracted and have yet to finish these games. They are included in this list because they made a great impression on me, and assuming no major drop in quality throughout their conclusions, they would factor into this list. I plan on going back to these games and finishing them at some point.

7) Suikoden II - It's a shame I never got around to finishing this one. In many ways it's similar to Final Fantasy VI, and considering that it's no surprise that this game would factor into my top 10.

8) Xenoblade - What a surprise this was. The battle system, although not perfect, was a great take on an open world turn based system. What really makes this game is the world design. The setting is very unique, and it's constructed in an incredible fashion. The Bionis Leg remains one of my favorite areas in a JRPG.

9) Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - I may have put only 10 hours into this one so far, but I love everything about it. The characters are ridiculously charming, in particular Fawful, the main villain. He has chortles. The battle system is simple, but manages to keep you engaged. This is my favorite of the Mario branded RPGs.

10) Radiant Historia - I'm going to include this one here for the time being, even though it could very well go downhill from here on until the end of the game. This one left a great impression on me, with a fantastic (yet disappointingly short) soundtrack, and an interesting take on turn based battles. The writing seemed to have a certain level of maturity to it. I appreciate the political intrigue that Radiant Historia brought to the table.

-----

Honorable Mentions

11) Diablo II

12) Star Ocean 3

13) Suikoden V

14) The Witcher 2

15) Disgaea 2

 

[Lime]

^TheExodu5

Only 1 game can receive 3 points

Spoiler

although I understand your motivation

 

[Earthpainting]

I'm afraid my top 10 isn't all that different from last year, with a few tweaks. Like last year, I'll try to skip over aspects like good music and visuals, because they pretty much all perform well in these fields. I've again put my picks in the order that I had played them in:

Final Fantasy IX
+ This game embodies the 'fantasy' part within the franchise's name.
+ The world is imaginative, detailed, colourful and just begs to be explored.
+ I still consider it to this date to be the best directed Final Fantasy game.
+ In spite of the fact that the cast was intentionally designed to be a bunch of tropes and archetypes, they still managed to make the roles their own. Vivi especially is my all-time favourite RPG character, in spite of being the poster-child of emo RPG characters.
- The load times can be a little long. I'm not sure if playing these on a different console or through emulation will alleviate it, but I sure hope it will.
- Encounter rate has certain spikes that I didn't really appreciate.

Chrono Trigger
+ One of the best examples out there for a simple that works so well with the medium. It opened up a lot of ideas, which the game utilised very well.
+ Colourful cast of characters which all felt viable to use.
+ A very cool battle system that keeps you involved and makes you feel like your party members are actually cooperating instead of doing their own thing.
+ Encourages you to play through it multiple times due to its many endings.
- As a pixel artist, I can't help but shake my head sometimes at a couple sloppy assets and mapping decisions. The combination of those made navigating caves and the jungle more difficult than it should have been.
- The load times on the PSX version, the one I played, were a bit of a downer.
- The anime cutscenes added to this version also didn't really add anything and were kind of a nuisance.

Final Fantasy VI (Bonus points)
+ Set the standard I both hold the series and the genre to.
+ Has aged quite well. All the games on this list have to be fair, but I would mainly like to stress it for this particular game. It is the one has the most chance to be remade and has the most to lose.
+ Great, varied cast of characters. This extends from both the protagonists to the antagonists. The game features a lot of optional playable characters as well. Most RPGs I have played feature a bunch of characters I end up neglecting over time, while this game successfully made me utilise everyone at my disposal.
+ This game is not afraid to take some bold turns. The infamous halfway point really drives the helplessness and despair home which the plot is trying to convey.
+ Of all the games in this list, this game felt the most like an adventure and a journey.
- Like Chrono Trigger, the PSX version had some nasty load times. Probably best to play one of the other releases.

Chrono Cross
+ I know I said I wouldn't bring this up, but Jesus the soundtrack of this game is amazing. The perfect blend of memorable, catchy and atmospheric. Without a doubt my favourite soundtrack of any game.
+ Gigantic playable roster of characters, which promotes multiple playthroughs.
+ Great world with an even better sense of adventure.
- Like most games with a large playable cast, the quality of these characters fluctuates heavily and their ties to the story can be pretty flimsy.
- The plot sort of goes off the deep end when you're nearing the game's conclusion and requires Chrono Trigger to be fully understood. Especially the latter is disappointing because I would have preferred if it could stand on its own.

Paper Mario
+ Gone are the artificially inflated numbers of most RPGs. Because of this, you'll be able to play more strategically since you can calculate your attacks and defence in advance.
+ Of all the games in this list, it is the one I have beaten the most amount of times. Heck, I even played it again earlier this year and I still love it as much as ever. I guess that
says something about how easy it is to revisit.
+ Clever gimmick which opened up a lot of cool new puzzles and ideas. While the sequels take it further and arguably do it better, the original still is held dear to me for doing it first.
+ My favourite interpretation of the Mario world in all of the Mario games.
- Some of the gameplay aspects are done better by Paper Mario 2 or the Mario & Luigi games.

Megaman Battle Network 2
+ Much like the first game, a big massive love letter to the Mega Man series. It's filled to the brim with references and throwbacks.
+ Fantastic battle system that actually requires you to stay alert and engaged.
+ Your special attacks come in the form of 'chips', which in practice isn't all that different from how card games work. This allows for a lot of customisation and strategy.
- The entire series is, while reasonably consistently good, kind of samey. I could have listed any entry and it wouldn't really have made much of a difference. I can't pinpoint why I end up liking the second one the most, but suffice it to say that I do.
- The stories and characters are clearly targeted at a relatively young audience. Not a huge downside, but something to keep in mind.

Terranigma
+ Blended mechanics from RPGs and Zelda-style games, the marriage of the two genres that I had been looking for.
+ Tight controls that compliment the action oriented gameplay.
+ Conceptually a very cool idea. Rebooting the world and helping shape history. Seeing the impact of your actions is very satisfying.
+ Deals with some themes that you won't find so easily in other games.
- There are some unfortunate difficulty spikes here and there.
- The magic system is underdeveloped and underutilised.

Mario & Luigi 3: Bowser's Inside Story
+ Fantastic use of the DS' two screens. Bowser and the brothers each use their own screen, which you can switch between as you please.
+ If there's one thing I love, it's when games start showing the culture of your non-human characters. Especially so if they are the enemy. Mario RPG's in general do this very well and Bowser's Inside Story is no exception.
+ Really cute and funny dialogue.
+ Some of the minigames, like the Giant Bowser one, were fantastic.
- Didn't really enjoy some of the minigames which were forced upon you.

Xenoblade Chronicles
+ The game likes to reward you with experience points for just about everything. This positive reinforcement adds to the desire to explore its massive world.
+ Fun battle system that encourages you to play together with your party members, in spite of them not being directly in your control.
+ The characters had the same abilities in the cutscenes as they did in the gameplay. This might seem something stupid to compliment it for, but it's such an easy thing to mess up, that many story-drive games fall victim to.
+ Reyn Time.
- While the game has a huge amount of quests, it is unfortunate that the game is stingy with quest-information or trackers.
- Didn't enjoy those couple of ether-based battles at all.

Half Minute Hero
+ Really fresh and strange take on the genre. You blow through entire arcs and sidequests in a matter of minutes.
+ This is probably one of the funniest and most endearing games I've played in quite some time.
+ Many of the missions have multiple outcomes and achievements, which make it very replayable.
+ The game contains multiple game modes, which offer quite a bit of variety.
- It's possible to get burnt out on the concept pretty fast if you play long sessions.

Honourable Mentions:
Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver
+ The game is the game I think of when I think of a sequel done right. It adds an incredible amount of content on top of the original and expands on the mechanics.
+ Huge amount of post-game content.
+ Contains the two generations of monster designs I like best.
- Rather slow-paced and repetitive.

Earthbound
+ Lots of interesting mechanics in place, such as enemies being afraid of you when you are significantly stronger than them or if you beat up the local boss. Also when you engage in battle with someone that isn't worth your time, you just immediately skip the fight and are awarded the exp.
+ Does a great job at establishing a 'home'. Eventhough you don't actually visit your home all that much, the game constantly reminds you of it in subtle ways. Being homesick is actually a status effect in the game too, which can be cured by talking to your parents or doing things that remind you of home. This really helps to temind the player that in spite of everything you do, you still are only a kid. It's a theme used throughout the entire series really well.
- Can be quite puerile in its dialogue at times. Sometimes this works as you perceive the game through the eyes of a child, but there are times when you just can't help but sigh.

Mother 3
+ The game is able to juggle whimsy, wonder and seriousness very successfully. While it is the most simplistic looking title in my list, it is still the one that reached me the most. It would be difficult to pin this on a single aspect of the game, when it is all the elements working in symphony. Whether it is the writing, the aesthetics or its sound.
+ A fun battle system that incorporates a combo-system to the beat of the background-music.
+ Of all the games in this list, Mother 3's cast stands out the most. While most games wouldn't dream of making your party consist out of anything other than characters that are cool and/or attractive, this game will let you play as a bunch of kids, a monkey and a limping guy with a moustache.
- The dishearting lack of an official English release. Those that cannot speak Japanese will have to jump through quite a few hoops to get this game in your hands.

Dragon Quest V: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride
+ A game that feels really grand, without doing anything overly bombastic. This makes it feel like a real journey.
+ While I am not a huge fan of the combat, the battles go really fast and never felt like a chore.
-

Nier
+ This game is quirky as shit. This was probably the most surprising entry on my list when I was narrowing it down. I'm not really exactly sure what made such an impression on me. It simply does a lot of different things and I definitely appreciated it. You never know what the game is doing or where it is going and this will keep you interested to keep going.
+ Has some very fun and interesting characters and makes you care about the things you do.
+ Probably the most surprising of all, this title features some pretty good voice overs and displays some of the more competent writing.
- Again... this game is quirky as shit. It tries a lot and not everything works.
- This game was probably low budget and it kind of shows. It's not the best looking game, tends to be rough around the edges and is no stranger to recycling assets.
- The gratuitous levels of swearing and blood feel a little forced. Not really a big problem, but I wish it had some restraint.

Unranked honourable Mention:
Persona 4
+ In spite of it being yet another highschooler coming of age game, the self-discovery of adolescents angle ties very well with the Persona motif.
+ Most accessible Shin Megami Tensei game yet. Still not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but does a good job at easing you into the world, mechanics and franchise.
+ The cast of characters is interesting enough by itself, but what I couldn't help but notice was that they all blended in extremely well with the world. Many RPGs have the problem of over-designing their characters, making the important people stand out like a sore thumb. Persona 4 does a very good job at having memorable characters without making them outlandish in any way.
- Dialogue, while decent in most instances, can be quite repetitive and patronising. I don't like games that treat me like an idiot and feel the need to explain every single, obvious detail and then repeat this explanation several times over.
- Most of this game's music is a style that I frankly find quite unpleasant to listen to, especially when it seemingly loops so quickly.
- The game has randomly generated dungeons. This makes dungeons feel like an even bigger grind than they already are. If you're not going to put any thought in designing stages, you might as well not include them.
- There's a time limit in place, which is already quite a pain, but it's not one you would expect. You only have a few things you can choose to do in an in-game day and it is not always clear if the thing you are about to do will eat up a chunk of time. It promotes you to not explore or experiment when things do not fit in your schedule, no matter how little the task.

 

[kswiston]

I really hope at least one HM game makes it to the top. Very unique games.

Harvest Moon games haven't done very well in the past, but perhaps this year will be different. I think they tend to miss out on votes because they are sort of a hybrid simulation/rpg franchise. No one typically mentions Animal Crossing either, and I think the two series have a lot of similarities.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Changes every time I make one up, but it's pretty close to this:


1. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (PS2, +3)

Dark, unforgiving, brutal, like no other RPG ever made. It sets the standard.


2. Lunar II: Eternal Blue (Sega CD)

If you're going to go traditional, do it with style, and Lunar excels at that.


3. Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines (PC)

If you let the SMT team make a PC WRPG, this would be the result. The best PC game ever, and easily one of the best RPGs, period.


4. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PS1/PSP)

The best Persona game. Great story, music, and punishing difficulty.


5. Dragon Force (Saturn)

Eight different campaigns, all with unique and fleshed out stories, and some of the most addictive SRPG gameplay around. It never gets old.


6. Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice (PS2)

Choices that matter, battles that truly require strategy, characters that you care about.


7. Demon's Souls (PS3)

I love Dark Souls, but Demon's atmosphere just has that extra something to it. It was From bringing dark fantasy into the next generation, firing on all cylinders, and succeeding.


8. Final Fantasy VI (SNES/GBA/etc.)

What can be said that hasn't? Classic, plain and simple.


9. Parasite Eve (PS1)

If only more JRPGs took place in modern cities and were founded (somewhat) in realism.


10. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (SAT/PS1/3DS)

If you like your Persona in your SMT, or vice versa, this is the best way to have it. Atmosphere in spades, grippling plot, cyberpunk devil summoning.

 

[Labadal]

In no particular order.

1.) Fallout: New Vegas (3 Points)
Alpha Protocol was my favorite rpg of the generation, but after a few playthroughs of Fallout: New Vegas, my mind has changed. You can play New Vegas in so many different ways. There are different factions in the world that you are free to join, or you could just do your own thing. You can play the game as an evil douche, killing and threatening people in the world, or if you wish, you can decide to not kill a single person. No killing is something that has been done in other games, but you usually have to take some enemies down with tranquilizers or choke them out. New Vegas allows you to talk your way out of confrontations in the main story and many side quests. This allows the player a freedom in playstyle that not many other games offer. Add to that good writing with interesting characters and quests with fun exploration and you have yourselves a classic game. I've beaten the game on both PS3 and PC, but my experience on PS3 was soured by technical issues. The Gamebryo Engine does simply not work well on PlayStation 3. I had no issues with the PC version, so I could really enjoy the experience until the end.

2.) Vampire: The Masqurade - Bloodlines
The game may have been a buggy mess at release, but thanks to fan mods, it is worth playing. The best writing in any game in my opinion. The voice actors did a great job, the dialogue is great and the music fits very nicely. I'm a big fan of the way you gain exp in Bloodlines. Instead of getting exp for enemy kills, you gain it from finishing different objectives. The different vampire races was also a great touch. Playing a tremere and a malkavian will be very different. There aren't as many factions as New Vegas, but the ones available are still good enough, and will make the game worth replaying at least once. The weak point is the combat, but it doesn't diminish the player experience too much.

3.) Final Fantasy VI
If there's any JRPG you need to play, it is this one. This is my favorite game of all time. Uematsu with his best soundtrack by a long shot. The music in FFVI makes the experience even better than it already is. The main characters are great and you'll really care for them, again their themes by Uematsu has a part in this too. You'd think with a party of 14 characters that they wouldn't be interesting because a lack of screen time. This is true for a few characters, the rest are well written The overall atmosphere in this game is great. The opening is the best one I can think of, and the opening in Narshe is great. What is really impressive is that despite the story being serious and gloomy, they still managed to put in so many goofy things like Ultros and other funny stuff you should see for yourselves. There are many things to do, like find all optional summons and do some personal quests, and then the Colliseum.

4.) Final Fantasy Tactics
My favorite strategy rpg. It might start out very difficult, wich could be overwhelming for newcomers, but if you just endure, you'll get to play a game that offers a story with many twists and a job system that is addicting to me. The game can be unblanaced , hard at the start and easy in the latter parts, plus there are a couple of fights that can stop you from completing the game if you don't have multiple saves. Other than that, I can't say I have anything to complain about.

5.) Planescape: Torment
I'll be honest and say that I'm not the biggest fan of the fights in this game.. They are serviceable, but they are in my opinion the weakest part of the game. What I love about this is all the great writing it offers, the unusual setting and the underlying themes. The amount of writing in this game was crazy, but that it is so good, is astonishing. Dialogue is great, with many options both serious and hilarious. The characters you recruit are interesting and you want to learn about them. More importantly, you want to know more about The Nameless One. Update your journal, play this game.

6.) Alpha Protocol
Choice. This is basically the key word for this game. Your choices matters and it alters people's and faction's views about you. This in turn changes wich people will help you in the game, and wich people you might end up fighting. You might not even meet some people during one playthrough, and then have them being your mission handler during another playthrough. You can take on missions the way you like. You don't have to finish the missions in one region, instead, you can visit the different regions and complete missions in the order you want. This alters stuff even more. Characters might change reactions depending on wich order you cleared missions, also you might something in one region that will help you in another one. This kind of reactivity to the game is something I love and wish to see more of. The combat isn't liked by many, I on the other hand enjoyed it. I do admit cover in the game isn't well implemented, and some skills are way overpowered, but the actual combat, I had no issue with. While aiming, you have to wait for the reticule to focus on your target and then you fire the weapon. At first, you will have to wait for a long time, but as you upgrade weapon skills, the wait is not that long. By the end game, you should have no trouble taking care of enemeis. It is entirly possible to complete the game without any kills, but you will have to choke out or tranqulize some guards. It was still fun to do, and some characters will acknowledge this fact.

7.) Neverwinter Nights II: Mask of the Betrayer
I played this for the first time this year. At first, I wasn't sure what all the fuss was all about, but then I told myself that this is a game made by Obsidian Entertainment, they always have a slow start. And sure enough, the more I played, the more I fell in love. The original NWN2 campaign had you recruit companions that were not interesting at all. They were a big disappointment, so it was very encouraging to meet interesting characters in MotB. I recruited one character that made me miss out on another one, but that's what new playthrough are for. The combat encounters were improved over the main game, and so was everything else I can think of. I actually cared about crafting items andreading lore books. Despite being a Forgotten Realms game, the setting was very good and didn't feel generic at all times. The dialogue was actually well done and the voice actors actually knew how to get in their roles. Gann and Okku are two of my favorite characters in the campaign.

8. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
I really enjoyed the first game, so when I learned that some of the former Black Isle guys were working on it, it was a no-brainer to buy this game. Despite the unfinished state of the game when it shipped, I still loved it. Like always, these guys knew how to write an interesting story and characters. It felt like Star wars, yet it wasn't the Star Wars that I knew from the movies. I can't describe it, but it was awesome. Kreia is one of my favorite characters in gaming, despite the ending parts of the game not being to the satisfaction of the devs. The good thing is that there are devoted fans that took care of this. So you can now play the restored content that was cut.

9.) Final Fantasy IX
This is my favourite PS! game. I like it for many of the same reasons I like Final Fantasy VI. I went through so many emotional changes during this game. Despite the graphical style (wich I like), the game doesn't have a super-happy-funland story. It could be really depressing at times, yet they could still fit in a lot of humour that didn't feel out of place. I have two complaints, and they both have to do with the battles. I was and still am not a big fan of the trance system. It isn't a big deal per se, the problem is that when it activates in a regular battle and then the boss is up next. This isn't a big problem for me anymore, but it was not a good system when you play the game for the first time. The other issue is the loading times when you get into a battle. I wish battle transitions were as fast as the SNES games. Can't really come up with any other complaints. People have complained about the final boss, but I'm cool with it. One more thing that I like is the way you develop your character skills. Gaining skills from equipment didn't seem like something I'd like at first, but it was fun finding all the items and gaining all skills/abilities for your characters.

10.) Tales of Vesperia
My favorite Tales game. Despite the third chapter not being very great, I still had a lot of fun with this game. Fun battles, both in singleplayer and local multiplayer, a good story for most of the game, likeable party members and a world that was interesting to explore. Other than the last third not being as good as the rest of the game, my other complaint would be the lack of any really interesting antagonists. This is one of the weak points of the Tales games in general.


Honorable Mentions

11.) Chrono Trigger - Uses the ATB system from Final Fantasy but improves it in every way possible. Visible enemies on the screen. A great story that lets you visit many different eras of the world. Great music.

12.) The Last Remnant - It wasn't best at anything, but the battle system was enough to draw me in and keep me playing. The game might have had some technical issues and some other flaws, but you can't blame Square Enix for not trying to do something different.

13.) Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II - Probably the biggest disappointment ever when it was announced. Turns out this would become my favorite hack 'n slash game of all time. This game is all about the extreme difficulty. Played this with my brother many, many times.

14.) Demon's Souls - I thought the hype was overblown, so I decided to get the game and see what all the fuss was about. People were right, the game was great. Challenging, but in a fair way (most of the time). You just had to look for boss patterns and treat the game like an old arcade game at times where bosses had specific patterns you had to learn. The bosses weren't that bad to be honest, it was the obstacles in your way that were the most challenging part. Great visual design, and some of the most fun battles in an action rpg to date. I was awful at PvP, but it was still a thrilling experience fighting other players.

15.) Valkyrie Profile - This game is listed here because there aren't (m)any games I can think of that plays like it. Difficult to describe the gameplay. A 2D sidescrolling RPG with turn based combat? That's my most fitting description I can come up with.


I'd list more games, but I wouldn't know when to stop. So, this is it for me. Missing a lot of games, not much to do about that.

 

[kswiston]

Every year this thread reminds me that I should play Mask of the Betrayer, but I can never finish the vanilla NWN without losing interest. I should probably just skip it and start with MotB.

 

[The Technomancer]

I'm gratified to see I'm not the only person to really enjoy the Megaman Battle Network games, although everyone is listing different entries...

 

[Dark Schala]

I have to say that I'm loving how much effort people are putting into their lists this year. Reading some of the entries is making me reorder my list even though I'd already thought I reordered it quite a few times. So thanks for taking the time to write up how you feel about the games you've voted for. Now this is the kind of list thread that I like, and if members can continue to post like this in various list threads throughout the year, then it would easily open up (possibly profound and intelligent) discussion.

Also, I should probably take Alpha Protocol out of my backlog, huh?

5.) Planescape: Torment
I'll be honest and say that I'm not the biggest fan of the fights in this game.. They are serviceable, but they are in my opinion the weakest part of the game.

I completely agree. The combat in Planescape: Torment is far from its best feature, but that game makes up for it in terms of having excellent writing which brings some life to Sigil. Starting off with an amnesiac character, but then turning that into an interesting journey of self-discovery and learning about his backstory as opposed to making him grow in a clichéd manner, it drives the player to feel for the protagonist a little. The way the game handles its protagonist was rather incredible.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

1. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic - one of the greatest video game stories of all time. Absolutely blew me away and left my jaw on the floor. The combat was solid, the skills flexible and the journey memorable.

2. Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim - I never got into Morrowind or Oblivion, but something about Skyrim clicked with me. I loved the exploration and the world. Combat could be easy, but all the tidbits of extras thrown in just made the game something I could really sink my teeth into. After 100+ hours I still haven't come close to completing the main quest.

3. Diablo II - when I first picked up a PC in the mid to late 90s, the sales guy convinced me that Diablo was a game I had to play. He was right. And Diablo II built on every aspect of the first and made it even more incredible. Defeating Diablo with my brother and brother-in-law made it an even greater experience.

4. Mass Effect 2 - I know I'll catch hell for this, because most believe ME1 to be the best of the bunch. But I found ME1 to have some serious flaws in its combat mechanics. ME2 improved all of that -- admittedly at the expense of the RPG elements -- but it made the game so much better IMO. I spent twice as long in ME2 as I did with the original.

5. Diablo III - yes, the ending was ... abrupt. But the journey, and the fact that I shared it with my sons, was a blast.

6. Fallout 3 - I didn't do a lot of the side missions, but the combat mechanic was fantastic. Stopping time, aiming for the head, and then re-starting time to see the head explode as your shot hit simply never got old.

 

[Adam Prime]

Awesome to read these posts... Im not going to go all out but heres my quick top five:

1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 points
2. Persona 4
3. Trails in the Sky
4. The Last Story
5. Final Fantasy IX

 

[Patryn]

I have to say that I'm loving how much effort people are putting into their lists this year. Reading some of the entries is making me reorder my list even though I'd already thought I reordered it quite a few times. So thanks for taking the time to write up how you feel about the games you've voted for. Now this is the kind of list thread that I like, and if members can continue to post like this in various list threads throughout the year, then it would easily open up (possibly profound and intelligent) discussion.

Also, I should probably take Alpha Protocol out of my backlog, huh?


I completely agree. The combat in Planescape: Torment is far from its best feature, but that game makes up for it in terms of having excellent writing which brings some life to Sigil. Starting off with an amnesiac character, but then turning that into an interesting journey of self-discovery and learning about his backstory as opposed to making him grow in a clichéd manner, it drives the player to feel for the protagonist a little. The way the game handles its protagonist was rather incredible.

If you know what you're getting when you go into AP, I think most people really like it. I know that I thought it was going to be a disaster, then picked it up a few months after it came out and it ended up being my 2010 GOTY.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

I have to say that I'm loving how much effort people are putting into their lists this year. Reading some of the entries is making me reorder my list even though I'd already thought I reordered it quite a few times. So thanks for taking the time to write up how you feel about the games you've voted for. Now this is the kind of list thread that I like, and if members can continue to post like this in various list threads throughout the year, then it would easily open up (possibly profound and intelligent) discussion.

Sprinkled liberally with "Why isn't my game in it?!?"

I guess I can keep this thing up towards the top and spread the message of "Speak now or forever hold your RPG peace!" heh.

 

[Last Hearth]

1. Planescape Torment (3 points)
2. Fallout
3. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
4. Mass Effect
5. Fallout 2
6. Jagged Alliance 2 (enough RPG elements to qualify)
7. BG2
8. Dragon Age.
9. Diablo 2
10. Betrayal at Krondor

HM:
Fallout 3/New Vegas
SW:TOR
Mass Effect 3
Last Remnant

 

[kswiston]

I have to say that I'm loving how much effort people are putting into their lists this year. Reading some of the entries is making me reorder my list even though I'd already thought I reordered it quite a few times. So thanks for taking the time to write up how you feel about the games you've voted for. Now this is the kind of list thread that I like, and if members can continue to post like this in various list threads throughout the year, then it would easily open up (possibly profound and intelligent) discussion.

We probably end up with less people participating due to the emphasis on explaining your thoughts rather than just listing titles, but I do think the thread is infinitely more enjoyable to read because of it.

One of the things that I find interesting is how recommendations split for long running series. Like, Suikoden 2 will probably get 70%+ of the series votes, while other series are all over the place. I haven't tallied anything for this year, but Fallout tends to be pretty divisive. Obviously Final Fantasy as well, but that is to be expected.

 

[ranmafan]

Its always tough to make a list like this for me. Its hard to say these are the best ten and feel good about it later. Just so many great games to choose from. But for the sake of fun, ill give it a try.

1. Final Fantasy VI (3 points) - Of all the games Ive played in my life, this is still the greatest adventure, the greatest cast of characters Ive met, and the greatest gaming experience I've ever had. Even today this game moves me more than any game has ever had. Brilliant on every level

2. Final Fantasy XII - For me, the gameplay here is what truly stands out. I loved going around the world, finding random monsters, setting up my gambits, and so on. While I wish the story was better, the game itself was a blast.

3. Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne - The series is so thankfully unique from all other RPGs out there. Its subject matter is so cool and mature, and I love that about the games. I love thats its different and still a great game.

4. Dragon Quest VIII - Again another great quest here, topped off with a marvelous world presented in such a beautiful way.

5. Demon's Souls - Im not one for going after super difficult games, but this one was so rewarding in playing through it that I could barely put it down. Still one of the great gaming moments for me was beating this game.

6. Mass Effect - While not perfect, the first mass effect had so much going for it. It was a great start to the series and really brought out great worlds and people to meet.

7. The legend of Heroes Trails in the Skies - Its a game that reminds me of RPGs pasts, great story, wonderful characters, and an art style I love so much.

8. Skyrim - Amazing world. That one fact alone kept me excited throughout the game.

9. Xenogears - While ultimately flawed with its second disk being so cut down, its still an incredible game with such a great story. Its one of the titles from the past that I really feel should have a real fully done remake to fix its shortcomings.

10. Final Fantasy X - The journey in this game was so well done I felt. I cared about the characters, and even with the annoying voice acting, I still felt something for the quest and the characters. Great game.

Honorable Mentions
1. Dragon Quest VII - A nice long quest that was filled with lots of fun gameplay
2. Sakura Taisen - Simply put, my all time favorite game series from Sega. and the original and its sequel are just the most perfect anime like experiences found in video games. The other games in the series are good (3 especially) but one and two are just the most special of them all. if my main list could have 11 titles, Sakura Taisen 1 would easily be on it.
3. Sakura Taisen 2 - see above
4. Super Robot Taisen Alpha - Like Sakura Taisen, this was a great anime experience brought to gameplay. Bringing all the great giant robot anime series together in such a great SRPG. I still pop this game in from time to time today to enjoy its wonders.
5. Tales of Vesperia - I really loved the characters a lot in this one.

Unranked Honorable Mentions
1. Y's 1&2
2. Y's Seven
3. Dark Souls
4. Persona 3
5. Persona 4
6. Lunar Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete
7. Vagrant Story
8. Fallout 3
9. Ys: Foliage Ocean in Celceta

 

[Allan Holdsworth]

I don't play many RPGs, so I apologize if my list is repetitive.

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (3 points) - the arena and train chapters are glorious.
2. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
3. Paper Mario: Sticker Star - though more of an action/adventure game, but it still has turned based battles. But as I'm not an RPG fan proper I actually liked this change.
4. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
5. Paper Mario - haven't played this since it came out, so it may be better than I remember
6. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
7. Fire Emblem
8. Golden Sun
9. Mother 3
10. Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis - plan to start the PSP one when I have time, as it's apparently the best one in the series from what I read

That's probably more than 50% of all the RPGs I've ever played, actually.