Top 30 Greatest RPG's of All Time

Why did they ever decide to make handheld spin-offs of Kingdom Hearts when KH II was so good?(although Birth By Sleep was good) Improved graphics and gameplay as well as new disney worlds and characters make it a must buy for fans of the original.

Its a shame none of the Romancing SaGa games were released in the west because they are very good. Romancing Saga 3 is the pick of the bunch with its visuals and amazingly open ended exploration. Its a shame developers don't innovate as often anymore.

Wow its a dreamcast game. Skies of Arcadia almost made buying a dreamcast worth it, if you dont have one get the remake for Gamecube. Its characters were very appealing which isn't exactly common for a jrpg and was visually stunning.

The Tales series is underappreciated by western gamers which is a shame because games like Tales of Symphona are awesome. With its anime art style, great story and unique characters ToS is a must bye if you actually bought a gamecube.

An enhanced version of Persona 3 with additional epilogue P3 FES. A social game is mixed into the rpg where players can form relationships in the school setting fighting devil-like creatues.

Disgaea is a game you could sink 100 hours into and only scratch the surface. Addictive as anything i've ever played with cool SRPG gameplay and wierd and whacky characters.

Vagrant story is a dark, atmospheric rpg made by squaresoft near the end of the psone's life. A cool new battle system and an engrossing story kept you wanting more, a shame it was so short. Sequel anyone?

Crisis Core mixes a Kingdom Hearts style battle system with classic FF VII elements like the materia system. Add a great story and a soundtrack featuring old redone classics and awesome new music make Crisis Core an awesome prequel to one of gamings greatest stories.

SRPG gameplay at its finest, taking Final Fantasy lore and adding them to the game. Heaps of job classes as well as being able to recruit chocobos. Also the first game to take place in Ivalice (FF XII world)

A tribute to the difficulty levels of older rpg's Demon's Souls is without a doubt the hardest rpg this generation. Players collect souls like a currency but if you die you lose all your souls. If you survive this one without losing all your hair you'll feel a great sense of pride.

The sequel to Chrono Cross doesn't rank as highly but that doesnt mean it isn't a bloody good game. Cross has a great plot and is another game that should be on the psn as a Psone classic.

JRPG's have been a bit stale this generation with games like FF XIII recieving mixed reviews. Nintendo then brought us Xenoblade Chronicles with an epic story and a revamped version of Final Fantasy XII's combat system.

One of the best stories in an rpg, Xenogears has religious themes that are surprisingly deep and will make you think, a rare trait in a game. Solid gameplay and music combine for a unique rpg experience.

Mass Effect's biggest selling point for me was its conversation system. Players are presented with choices that not only have effects in Mass Effect but also in ME2 and the upcoming ME3. A deep engaging universe and exellent story more than make up for thin rpg elements.

This Gameboy Advance game was a surprise hit when it came out in 2002. Visually excellent for a GBA game and traditional gameplay and feel similar to some of the best SNES games.

After the futuristic entries of VII and VIII, Final Fantasy IX went back to its fantasy roots with sweet results. With solid gameplay, characters, music and graphics FF IX is how an rpg should be.

Skyrim is massive, with hundreds of hours of questing and great graphics! What more could you ask for? Oh MASSIVE DRAGONS! All this would be nothing without good solid gameplay though which is much improved from Oblivion.

Dragon Quest doesn't get the the recognition it probably deserves being the little known sibling of Final Fantasy. DQ is an exellent series and VIII is probably the best entry. Artwork from Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball Z fame is a standout feature with solid gameplay and lovely music.

One of the last real PS2 games released Persona 4 is a kind of murder mystery rpg set in rural Japan. It improves on Persona 3 in its faster gameplay. Persona 5 needs to hurry up.

Lets be honest... we all love pokemon on the inside. Its addictive gameplay of catching the cute monsters wouldn't be half as fun without its surprisingly deep battle system. Gold was the best in the series improving on Red/Blue massively.

One of the best rpg battle systems ever concocted Suikoden II features elements of an SRPG mixed into the combat. Wish Konami would pump out a psone classic already.

Kingdom hearts when it was first announced seemed like a cheap cash in by Disney and Squaresoft to me. However once i started playing I found an engrossing story, awesome action filled combat and of course it has Disney characters. Donald duck never gets old.

Final Fantasy X does two things better than other FF games in my opinion: story and music. Its story is awesome and distracts you from the games linearity and this has to be Uematsu's best soundtrack. Definately buying the HD remake.

Deus Ex offers huge freedom to the player, allowing players to choose there play style. It features an awesome sci-fi story set in the future. Its prequel Human revolution is awesome too(apart from thos boss battles!)

Possibly the best rpg and stat elements of all the final fantasy's VI is the complete package. Great soundtrack and a HUGE cast of playable characters. Plus Kefka is an awesome villain.

No one played Illusion of Gaia! C'mon people! The people that did play it would im sure place it as high as i am on there favourite rpg lists. The best out of a trio of games it features action rpg combat, puzzles in a zelda-esque fashion.

If i had to chose i game to remake in hd graphics it would be this stunningly beautiful rpg. Secret of Mana has possibly the greatest videogame soundtrack ever. Its available on the app store so go pick it up!

The first of what i'd call the modern Final Fantasy's. Sets itself apart from other rpg's by its awesome story and characters and Nobuo Uematsu's first real standout soundtrack. Go and buy the psp Complete Collection with updated visuals and an additional storyline.

Totally revolutionised the rpg back in the original playstation era with it amazing(at the time) 3D graphics for an rpg. Great story, epic characters and solid gameplay mean FF VII is a must play for any person even slightly into rpg's.

Simply put, its the best rpg ever. Story, gameplay and soundtrack are all awesome. God i miss Squaresoft!