The 26 Best RPGs

• By GamePro Staff
• November 05, 2008 17:09 PM PST
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Behold as GamePro counts down the 26 greatest role-playing games ever created. From Chrono Trigger to Fallout 3, these are the RPG games everyone should play!

#26: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Like most MMORPGs, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has two primary playable factions with character customization, quests full of Warhammer lore, characters of various races who are comprised of a number of archetypes, and career paths to specialize in a craft of some sort. With an already established fan-base of the Games Workshop's tabletop game, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning provides its players with a dark and humorous experience that penalizes unfair advantages between higher and lower level players in Realm vs. Realm combat. We especially enjoy capturing Victory Points in the Player vs. Player gameplay which involves random PvP encounters, objective-based encounters, and other campaigns and scenarios.

#25: Kingdom Hearts II

Square and Disney did more than merely prove that they could pump out a decent RPG. They gave life to a grand, genre-changing experience featuring classic tales, heroes, and villains from our childhood. Kingdom Hearts had a lot to live up to in its second act, and Kingdom Hearts II completely blew us away. Only a year had passed for Sora, Donald, and Goofy, but the worlds were bigger, the Keyblades were badder, and the entire scope of the battle between the Heartless, the Nobodys, and Organization XIII had grown to epic proportions. All we can do now is wait for the magic to return in Kingdom Hearts III, but at the very least, we'll get to revisit the series in the PS2 remake of Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories this winter.

#24: Grandia

The story of a young adventurer named Justin featured incredible music, an epic story, unique characters brought to life with superb voice acting, and a combat system unlike any other before it. This game's name was Grandia. The world of Grandia was unlike anything gamers had seen before on the PlayStation, with large and colorful 3D cities and dungeons, filled with treasure, people, and monsters alike. While some RPGs had combat systems that would let you lazily hammer on a single button, Grandia refreshed the entire concept of turn-based battles by having every character and enemy attack each other at the same time. What really drove the game was how you timed your magic and melee moves -- in the best cases, you could preempt your foes entirely with nary a scratch on your party. When you made your way to so-called "End of the World," Grandia's story reached a new height, and more surprise still laid in wait for eager adventurers.

#23: Skies of Arcadia

Although the ill-fated and underappreciated Dreamcast met an early end, its gaming library still shone with plenty of solid hits. Skies of Arcadia was one of those hits, putting you in shoes of Vyse, a cutlass wielding pirate who sailed the open skies with his massive airship and sassy female sidekicks. Not only did you contend with rival pirates and imperial soldiers in (several) impressively animated hand-to-hand turn-based combat, but you also had the chance to sink entire enemy ships in aerial battle. Back in the day, Skies of Arcadia was known as one of the most graphically polished RPGs you could find anywhere, and it's still a treasure classic. Play the original Dreamcast version over the GameCube port any day, and you'll be treated to a fun, exciting story with plenty of slick special effects and memorable music.

#22: Planescape Torment

Developed by Black Isle, the same company responsible for the first two Fallout titles as well as the Baldur's Gate series, Planescape: Torment offered up one of the more complex and memorable story-lines ever seen in a video game. Cast in the role of The Nameless One, an immortal god who suffers from amnesia, gamers had to travel far and wide in order to solve the ageless question: Who am I? The terrific writing and storytelling is what elevates Planescape: Torment above its peers but it wasn't just a one trick pony: with compelling quests and plenty of action, it did just about everything right and rightfully claims a place on our list.

#21: Persona 3

Released seven painstaking years after Persona 2, the third installment in the franchise set new standards as to what to expect from a JRPG -- from its incredibly in-depth story to its unique combat system, Persona 3 was a masterpiece. In a sleepy bay-side town in rural Japan, you take on the role of a mysterious new transfer student at Gekkoukan High. Living in a dorm with a colorful cast of high school students, you're tasked with having to juggle your academic and social life during the day... that is, until the clock strikes twelve. Once midnight hits, the world of Persona 3 is embraced by the Dark Hour - a hidden time where demons known as Shadows run free, unaware to the unsuspecting townsfolk. Using a special power known simply as "Persona", you must take to the mysterious tower of Tartarus with your party by your side in hopes of defeating the Shadows once and for all.

#20: Deus Ex

Featuring a cyberpunk conspiracy-addled storyline worthy of a Philip K. Dick novel and an astonishing first-person narrative, Deus Ex was more of a revolution than it was a game. Deus Ex took the gaming world by storm with its FPS approach to classic role playing storytelling, immersing you into a world that had real consequences to your actions. With a wide array of weapons, abilities, and plot-paths, it was almost guaranteed there was no way you could play Deus Ex the same way twice.

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