Whew! After a couple of weeks of steadily counting down the top 100 RPGs and JRPGs, we’re finally at the end of our massive list… and what fun it has been to pull it together!
As we’ve been saying over the past weeks, there’s been a couple of things that we wanted to achieve with this list; we wanted to reflect the full history of the genre (which is why we broke it down into 25 games per decade over four decades), and we wanted to give weighting to both JRPGs, and RPGs developed by western developers. Both “sides” approach game development in a very different way, but both are very worthy, and worthwhile, and we went into this list without a “bias” either way.
Below you can find the games broken down, with links to each article explaining why we made the selections that we did.
We’re very keen to hear your own thoughts! Favourite games that aren’t on the list, and which of the below you have particularly fond memories of. Be sure to say hello in the comments, and thanks for reading!
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 80s (part 1)
Nethack
Wizardry I
Mother
Sweet Home
Phantasy Star
Rogue
Gauntlet
Dragon Quest
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 80s (part 2)
Dragon Quest III
The Final Fantasy Legend
Ys Book 1 + 2
Zelda II
Final Fantasy II
Phantasy Star II
Sword of Vermilion
Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance
Might & Magic I
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 80s (part 3)
Wasteland
Ultimata IV
Castle of the Winds
The Bard’s Tale II
Dungeon Master
Magic Candle
Final Fantasy I
Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Story
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 90s (Part 1)
Dungeons & Dragons: Wake of the Ravager
Xenogears
Baldur’s Gate
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
EarthBound
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy VI
Pokemon Red/Blue
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 90s (Part 2)
Final Fantasy Tactics
Pokemon Gold/Silver
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Final Fantasy IV
Super Mario RPG
Parasite Eve
Final Fantasy VIII
Suikoden II
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 90s (Part 3)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Wild ARMs 2
Final Fantasy VII
Ravenloft: Strahd’s Possession
Al Qadim: Genie’s Curse
Diablo
Planescape Torment
Ogre Battle 64
Shining In The Darkness
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 00s (Part 1)
Valkyria Chronicles
The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
Wild ARMS III
King’s Field IV
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door
Persona 4
Fire Emblem 7
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 00s (Part 2)
Dragon Age: Origins
Final Fantasy X
Kingdom Hearts
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
The World Ends With You
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
Ragnarok Online
The best RPGs and JRPGs of the 00s (Part 3)
Dragon Quest VIII
Star Ocean: Til the End of Time
Vagrant Story
Lost Odyssey
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Atelier Rorona
World of Warcraft
Final Fantasy XIII
The best RPGs and JRPGs of this decade (2010-2017) (Part 1)
Pandora’s Tower
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
NieR
Mass Effect 2
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Undertale
NieR: Automta
Bravely Second
The best RPGs and JRPGs of this decade (2010-2017) (Part 2)
Ni No Kuni
I Am Setsuna
World of Final Fantasy
Megadimension Neptunia VII
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Dragon Quest Builders
Resonance of Fate
The best RPGs and JRPGs of this decade (2010-2017) (Part 3)
Xenoblade Chronicles
Dark Souls
The Banner Saga
Nioh
Yakuza 0
Legend of Grimrock
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Persona 5
Divinity: Original Sin
And that’s it! The top RPGs and JRPGs, across all the years that the genre has been active, giving you both an idea of where it all came from, and where the genre’s at now.
So, how many of these games have you played, and what are your favourites? What other games would you include in your personal lists that might not be in the above? Thanks for reading, and let the discussions begin!
– The DDNet Team
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