IGN's top 100 RPG's of all time

[Coys1882]

I bet one of the Bethesda titles takes the #1 spot.

[CarlW]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

I struggle with a lot of this because it is hard to compare say Dragon Warrior with a game like Fall Out.

You really have to look at it in the context of its time period and constraints. Given the technology that was available and the calibre of game play for the early 90's, I would say that FF3 was a fricken' master piece, with Chrono Trigger nearing on perfection. But if you compared them say graphically or even some of the story line to a lot of today's RPG's they may look like crap.

I think we are all forgetting the best game to come out of the FF series anyway, Final Fantasy Tactics.

FF3(6) and Chrono Trigger are amazing. I can compare them to a ton of newer RPG's and they still come out smelling like a rose. The music was amazing in both games, and there is nothing wrong with 16 bit graphics IMO .

Others I would think belong on the list would be Shadowrun, Ogre Battle as already mentioned, Pokemon, Secret of Mana, and the Suikoden games.

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

I bet one of the Bethesda titles takes the #1 spot.

I don't think any of their games will make it that high, though I expect at least one to make the top 20 or so. Probably Skyrim, though I would personally put Morrowind ahead of it just because of how amazing it was to see something like Daggerfall in 3D (which itself better be in the top 100).

The great thing about Bethesda's Elder Scrolls games, IMO, is that they're some of the only RPG designs that actually seem to be advancing from RPG designs of the 90s. Yeah, graphics have majorly improved in most RPGs, obviously, but gameplay and structure has remained largely the same from something, like, say, Fallout (which revolutionized the CRPG, which is why it's a lot easier to recall great pre-Fallout JRPGs than great pre-Fallout CRPGs ), to something like Mass Effect or Fable. They've tweaked some of the older gameplay systems to be more user-friendly and efficient, but there hasn't been any real wholesale changes in the way you play.

With the ES series, though, Bethesda took world-building to a whole other level in CRPGs, creating much more closely a real pen-and-paper RPG feel. You get to go just about anywhere, do just about anything, and for a good part of it actually play a role, not just in dialogue choices, but in the regular game world and how you interact with it on a a basic level.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by cDnStealth

Final Fantasy VII is totally over rated. I think most people would agree that VI was better.

I wouldn't say overrated. It was a masterpiece at the time, but unlike FF6 or Chronotrigger, I feel like it just hasn't aged well at all. Not that I'm trying to be the poster boy for 1up here, but so happens, they're also running an article series on FF7, talking about this very thing heh.

http://www.1up.com/features/final-fa...ii-quinceanera

Edit: Nice to see Tales of Phantasia get a shout-out on the list as well.

[ma-skis.com]

pokemon... i'll predict between 6 and 15 now that you mention it, can't knock a game for creating an entire side culture of cuddly fighting animal thingys...

[Blaster86]

JRPGs are as much actual RPGs as Legend of Zelda.

[ma-skis.com]

i think the funny thing is now how short FF7 or any of the SNES games was in terms of gameplay compared to what people can easily sink into something now... pretty sure my diablo 3 and minecraft hours have easily eclipsed ff7 3 or 4 times

[Tinordi]

I loved FF1 for NES. First RPG I ever played and it was awesome.

[Ozy_Flame]

Chronotrigger and Ocarina of Time should no doubt be Top 5.

Fallout 3 should be up there as well.

[likwid888]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Chronotrigger and Ocarina of Time should no doubt be Top 5.

Fallout 3 should be up there as well.

Link to the Past will be ahead of Ocarina of Time

[Lego Man]

Are Zelda games really RPG games?

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by CarlW

FF3(6) and Chrono Trigger are amazing. I can compare them to a ton of newer RPG's and they still come out smelling like a rose. The music was amazing in both games, and there is nothing wrong with 16 bit graphics IMO .

Others I would think belong on the list would be Shadowrun, Ogre Battle as already mentioned, Pokemon, Secret of Mana, and the Suikoden games.

Shadowrun was epic. Put so many hours into that game and finished it.
Suikoden was great too. The later ones in the series were kind of crappy, but I enjoyed 1,2 and 3.

FF3 is simply the best RPG of all time IMHO. So many characters, skills and options, such a good story, memorable villians.

It also had so many different Easter egg type things in it (getting Edgar's Chainsaw from the clock) - certain items you could only get from stealing from certain monsters. I feel newer games generally lack this type of thing.

With Esper leveling, you could completely customize your character's stats and turn them into Gods. I think I pumped Edgar's magic power in the game by 5-6x what his base was, his "Ultima" did 9999 with up to 8 targets.

[miraisoup]

^Suikoden 1 was an amazing game and is up there with my favourites of all time.

FF 6 and 7 to me are the best RPG's, I have to think 6 and 7 will be in the top 10 easily.

[northcrunk]

All this talk makes me want to download FFVI and FFVII tonight and play them through again.

[Ashasx]

My list for the games I've played, for nobody that cares:

1. Earthbound - a game with so much heart and charm. So much fun, so much wit. Simply the greatest game ever made.
2. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - the only game to come close to the heart and charm seen in Earthbound. A simple, yet fun combat system, but with hilarious and fantastic writing.
3. Chrono Trigger - probably the most advanced game of it's age. Multiple endings, varied characters, time travel... this game had it all.
4. Fallout 3 - I don't think any game compares with the atmosphere of Fallout 3. There has been nothing quite like journeying out into the wasteland for the first time with nothing much more than a BB gun, scrounging for ammo and deciding what to do with Megaton.
5. Golden Sun 2 - probably the best portable RPG. A game that simply does everything well.
6. Kingdom Hearts series - driven by the story. Perhaps the best writing of any RPG I've played. An all-star cast of voice actors... A series that truly takes you back to your childhood. The best soundtrack of modern RPGs.
7. Tales of Vesperia - the Tales games are always known for their characters, and I think they did it best with this game.
8. Pokemon RPG series - perhaps the most dividing of all RPGs. Can be the simplest of them all, or absolutely the most complicated. A game for rookies and experts.
9. World of Warcraft - an absolute revelation of video games in 2004. Even almost 8 years after, no game has made an impact on the industry like WoW has. Nothing even close.
10. Secret of Mana - there's nothing quite like multiplayer in RPGs like this. The whole game didn't have as much to offer as something like Chrono Trigger, but it pushed the envelope in it's own regard.

Edit: I'd have honorable mentions to Persona 3/4, numerous other Tales games, Borderlands, Lunar, Lufia II, Legend of Dragoon, Morrowind, and Fallout 1/2.

A company called Xseed games has done a wonderful job remastering some of these classics and making their own fantastic games. One of my favorite RPG developers right now.

[CarlW]

One of the things is that the graphics of FF7 has not aged well with time, whereas the 16 bit graphics from FF3(6) and Chrono Trigger and Suikoden have actually fared much better IMHO.

[CarlW]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

My list for the games I've played, for nobody that cares:

1. Earthbound - a game with so much heart and charm. So much fun, so much wit. Simply the greatest game ever made.

Holy how did I miss naming Earthbound? Definately an awesome game. Guess i need more Slumber.

[kyuusei]

More of the list:

#80: Dungeon Master
#79: Icewind Dale 2
#78: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
#77: Tales of Symphonia
#76: Illusion of Gaia
#75: Front Mission 3
#74: Wizardry 8
#73: Final Fantasy
#72: Grandia II
#71: The Bard's Tale
#70: Demon's Souls
#69: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
#68: Kingdom Hearts II
#67: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
#66: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
#65: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
#64: Final Fantasy X
#63: Skies of Arcadia
#62: The World Ends With You
#61: Chrono Cross

I have to say, I nearly quit at Persona 4 being #90 and Shadow Herats Covenant being at #98. But of course, I want to see where Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Xenogears, Digital Devil Saga, SMT: Nocturne and the Mass Effect games end up. Oh and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

Ultima 3 and 4 should show up on the list.

[FanIn80]

Some of my faves (in no particular order, although Dragon Warrior is by far my favourite series):

Dragon Warrior 1, 2, 3, 4, 8
Final Fantasy 3,4,6,7,9
Elder Scrolls 2, 3, 4, 5
Baldur's Gate 1,2
Icewind Dale 1,2
Planescape: Torment
Might and Magic 6
Wizardry 8
Fallout 1,2,3
Neverwinter Nights 1,2
Deus Ex 1,3
Dragon Age 1,2
Borderlands
Tales of Vesperia
Vampire the Masquerade 2

I'm sure there's a whole pile I've forgotten about as well.