All-Time RPG Ranking

A ranking and list of my all-time favorite RPGs that I think are the best of the bunch. This includes JRPGs, western RPGs and more, although for some games where RPG classification is iffy I will be using my own judgment and looking up if the game is generally considered an RPG. This only includes games I have played enough to feel confident giving a score.

Summon Night: Swordcraft Story
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story

1

Persona 3 FES
Persona 3 FES

2

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

3

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC

4

Mother 3
Mother 3

5

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

6

Persona 4
Persona 4

7

Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

8

Undertale
Undertale

9

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

10

Octopath Traveler II
Octopath Traveler II

11

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

12

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

13

Hades
Hades

14

Slay the Spire
Slay the Spire

15

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

16

Pokémon Colosseum
Pokémon Colosseum

17

Tales of the Abyss
Tales of the Abyss

18

Paper Mario
Paper Mario

19

Pokémon LeafGreen Version
Pokémon LeafGreen Version

20

Pokémon Crystal Version
Pokémon Crystal Version

21

Persona 3 Portable
Persona 3 Portable
FeMC and party control are good, but The Answer missing is tangibly disappointing and the lack of cutscenes undercuts impact.

22

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth

23

Fire Emblem: Awakening
Fire Emblem: Awakening

24

Pokémon Black Version
Pokémon Black Version

25

Pokémon Emerald Version
Pokémon Emerald Version

26

Pokémon Gold Version
Pokémon Gold Version

27

Octopath Traveler
Octopath Traveler

28

Fire Emblem Engage
Fire Emblem Engage

29

Pokémon Sapphire Version
Pokémon Sapphire Version

30

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

31

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards

32

Pokémon Emerald Rogue
Pokémon Emerald Rogue

33

Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon Trading Card Game

34

Cosmic Star Heroine
Cosmic Star Heroine

35

Sega Ages Phantasy Star
Sega Ages Phantasy Star

36

Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2

37

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

38

Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

39

Fate/Grand Order
Fate/Grand Order

40

Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition
Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition

41

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

42

Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeon

43

Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line
Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line

44

NeoQuest II
NeoQuest II

45

Transistor
Transistor

46

Dark Cloud 2
Dark Cloud 2

47

Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest

48

NeoQuest
NeoQuest

49

Radiata Stories
Radiata Stories

50

MapleStory
MapleStory

51

RuneScape
RuneScape

52

3 Comments


4 days ago

I felt like Pokemon Emerald Rogue was far enough for me to rate it, so I finally hit 50 RPGs on this list! ...And then promptly realized both Slay the Spire and Hades should be on this list as an RPG and Action RPG respectively, so I ended up hitting 52. Uh, oops!

RPGs are probably my favorite genre of game to play, kinda funny when I grew up on a Nintendo 64 and Gamecube, so the average score is a VERY high 3.81 right now: I have to imagine that'll go down over time and if anything I wish I had found more RPGs that didn't click with me. When it seems like you end up enjoying everything, it can sometimes cause you to doubt your own opinions, you know? Then again, a lot of the ones I've played are highly acclaimed, so maybe I'm just on a long streak of good choices.

One thing I was frustrated with is my lack of getting any Final Fantasies far enough in before I hit 50, and indeed a bit of a lack of variety + heavy hitters. 11 of these are Pokemon games with six Fire Emblems on top of that, meaning about 1/3rd of the list is just two franchises. Zero Final Fantasy, two Dragon Quest, one Tales, one Phantasy Star, only one Kingdom Hearts when it was a franchise that was huge for my childhood. No Golden Sun when it was also a major childhood franchise. Not to mention stuff I've really wanted to get to like Earthbound, Radiant Historia, Soul Nomad, you get the idea. Here's hoping that by the time I hit 75 rated I'll have a higher variety...although I suspect that there will still be a Lot of Pokemon and Fire Emblem still given I have multiple games of both to still chew through. I also want to go through and add notes on at least some of these, but sometimes with multiple lists I'm not sure what new to add. Hopefully this is still something people enjoy, anyway!

4 days ago

I'm curious how you would like DQIII when you play it :) It connects with 1&2 for a complete trilogy and it is a huge step up in quality (for me at least). Same with trails 3rd, it's a direct continuation of SC , and you have that in your top 5. I do get you can't play them all, these days i don't really have the time i want myself. Nice list anyhow!

4 days ago

@Rensie Thanks! I have started up DQIII, but I didn't get too far into it yet. Sometimes I chill in bed when I wake up and play an RPG or something that's really turn based, so maybe I'll pick on DQ3 as my next one. One of my best friends loves Trails the 3rd, so I'm excited to get to it! I do need to actually finish SC first since I am only partway through, gotta get back into where I was sidequest-wise since I keep 100%ing them. I feel like SC has a good chance to take the top when I finish it. Thanks again for enjoying the list!


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