30. Final Fantasy IV (1991)

Developer: Square

Genre: Turn-Based Role Playing Game

Theme: Redemption

Final Fantasy games had long been powerhouses in the RPG genre, and the first one to make a major worldwide impact was the fourth installment. The player takes control of Cecil, a dark knight who is leading his team of Red Wings in an attack against the city of Mysidia to take their Water Crystal on his King’s orders. After he voices his doubt of the king’s motives, he is stripped of his rank and leaves with his friend and ally Kain to regain his honor.

On his journey, he begins to uncover the true effects that the King’s actions have had on the land and its people. Cecil’s journey of self-discovery and redemption leads him to a battle against the very kingdom that he had used to serve.

Regain your honor after being stripped of your rank

Find out if the king’s actions have truly been for the people’s good

29. Shadowrun (1993)

Developer: Beam Software

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Cyberpunk Fantasy

Loosely based on the first Shadowrun novel by Robert N. Charrette, Shadowrun adapts the tabletop game of the same name. The year is 2050, and Jake Armitage is shot on the streets of Seattle. Suddenly, a shapeshifter shows up and casts a spell on Jake before he is taken away to the morgue.

Once there, the previously dead Jake wakes up with no memories of his former life.  After receiving a warning from a mysterious figure named “Dog”, Jake sets off to investigate the events leading up to his shooting, as well as to find the one’s who ordered his assassination.

Based off of both a tabletop game of the same name and a novel called Never Deal with a Dragon, this game quickly became a cult classic among SNES players for its raunchy atmosphere that was so uncharacteristic of games at the time.

Jake is killed and wakes up with no memories

Track down the person who had you murdered

28. Fallout 2 (1998)

Developer: Black Isle Studios

Genre: Sci-Fi Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Postapocalyptic Earth, Survival

Almost a century after the events of the Vault Dweller’s journey, the New California Republic has begun to unify the towns, but is met with opposition by a mysterious group known only as the Enclave. In the middle of this conflict, a village called Arroyo suffers the worst drought on record, and they send out the player-controlled “Chosen One” to find the GECK, that can supposedly be used to fix their problem.

Faced against the sprawling wasteland with nothing but a Pip-Boy handheld device, a water flask, a jumpsuit, and some cash, the player must find a way to survive and accomplish this noble goal.

Face not only the Enclave, but giant scorpions

Find the GECK to end the terrible drought

27. Mass Effect (2007)

Developers: BioWare, Edge of Reality, & Demiurge Studios

Genre: Sci-Fi Third Person Role Playing Game

Theme: Alien Invasion

In the year 2183, the human race is amongst the stars, working alongside fellow Milky Way inhabitants to protect the peace of the galaxy. The greatest of these protectors are known as the Spectres corps.

The player takes control of Commander Shepard, a veteran soldier who serves as a candidate to be the first human Spectre ever. However, during the evaluation, Shepard’s evaluator is murdered by a fellow Spectre and Shepard encounters an artifact that shows visions of destruction. After proving the guilt of the evaluator’s killer, Shepard sets off with the new title of Spectre to find and bring back the culprit and uncover the truth behind the visions.

The first of a trilogy, BioWare put in countless hours to make the world of Mass Effect feel real and lived-in, and it shows. Few universes put as much depth into their non-human races as Mass Effect, which takes the time to explore what makes the various aliens of the Milky Way tick as well as showcase how these vastly different people interact with one another. Stereotypes are represented and then mercilessly deconstructed, forcing the player to make no assumptions and have an analytical eye for every situation they encounter.

Face robots, humans, and aliens

Find out who is responsible for the destruction you witnessed in a vision

26. Might and Magic VI (1998)

Developer: New World Computing

Genre: First Person Party-Based Role Playing Game

Theme: Good vs. Evil

After the conclusion of the previous game, the long war between the Ancients and the Kreegans spreads to other planets. On one planet, Enroth, King Roland Ironfist is betrayed by an air mage named Sulman and is subsequently captured. With the King’s forces out of the way, the Kreegans begin to chip away at the King’s powers and attack the nearby towns.

One such town holds the four characters that make up the player’s party, who are teleported away and trained by Falagar, a warlock who prepares them to protect the Ironfist Dynasty, save the King, and stop the advances of the Kreegan armies.

Defend towns against the Kreegans

 

War is upon you!

25. Fallout: New Vegas (2010)

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Genre: Sci-Fi Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Postapocalyptic Earth, Survival

After the move to 3D open-world environments in Fallout 3, there was a whole new world opened up to Fallout players for new and epic adventures. New Vegas begins as the player, a courier for the Mojave Express, is captured by a mobster named Benny. Benny takes the courier’s package, the mysterious “Platinum Chip”, and shoots the courier in the head. The courier is left for dead, but is then found and nursed back to health by the local doctor, Mitchell.

After recovering, the player must set off to find Benny and recover the Platinum Chip, while facing the hardships of the brutal Mojave Desert, and the inhabitants of New Vegas, a patch of land untouched by the nuclear fallout.

Fire away!

Humans are not the only ones you have to fight against

24. The Witcher (2007)

Developer: CD Projekt RED

Genre: Third Person Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure, Witcher

Based on a book series of the same name, The Witcher follows the story of Geralt of Rivia, a travelling monster hunter for hire who makes use of his alchemical prowess and his mysterious powers to fight against the supernatural creatures.  The game follows a chain of moral choices that influence not only Geralt’s fate, but also the fate of the world around him.

Throughout the story, Geralt is placed in the paths of a group of freedom-fighting elves and an order of kingdom-protecting knights, and his choices ally himself with one side or the other, or the player can also choose to retain neutrality and have Geralt follow his own path.

Decide whether you will align with the elves or knights

Take a side or choose your own path

23. Deus Ex (2000)

Developer: Ion Storm

Genre: Sci-Fi Mystery Role Playing Game

Theme: Conspiracy and Technological Advancement

Following a dystopian future of 2052, Deus Ex follows JC Dalton, a rookie UN Anti-Terrorist Coalition agent as he fights to keep the peace in an ever more chaotic world. Altered by nanotechnology, Dalton takes missions to face against the National Secessionist Forces, and to recover their stolen vaccines for the “Gray Death” virus.

Throughout his story, he encounters many organizations such as the Hong Kong Triads, Majestic 12, and even the Illuminati, as he uncovers a conspiracy that delves deep into past and hold the power to change the future forever.

Be tactful in your encounters, or violence will occur

Face the Triads, Majestic 12, and Illuminati

22. Dragon Age 2 (2011)

Developer: BioWare

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure

Dragon Age 2 follows the story of Hawke, who fled the land during the events of the first game.  The game is framed through the flashbacks of Hawke’s former partner Varric Tethras.  The story follows Hawke’s rise to power across the Waking Sea in the city of Kirkwall.

Through three acts separated by about three years apiece, the player experiences the events that lead up to Hawke becoming the “Champion of Kirkwall” and influencing a war between the Mages and the Templars. Hawke’s choices decide the fate of the land and the war that rages around it.  

While not quite as "epic" as yet more action-focused than the first in the Dragon Age series, the sequel benefits from a tight focus that tells a different story in its own right. As what tends to be a common occurrence in BioWare titles, decisions matter in Dragon Age 2 and the you will become especially invested in making the right call when you watch the world develop around them and bond with the colorful characters that join you in your travels.

Fantasy creatures are not always docile

Your decisions affect the war between the Mages and the Templars

21. Dark Souls (2011)

Developer: From Software

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Dark Fantasy Adventure

Waking up as an undead, the player is faced with a large non-linear world to trek through, and the player must fight their way through hordes of nightmarish creatures, and make a pilgrimage to discover the fate of the undead.  With a subtle story and close to no pulls away from the action, the players will find it hard to pull themselves away from the game, save for a few rage quits.

Anyone who has taken a few circuits around the RPG world has probably heard of the Dark Souls games. Known for being excruciatingly hard, but just as rewarding, they have made a name for themselves as a gem of the industry and one of the best RPG games for those who like a challenge. Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to the original Demon’s Souls, and builds on the predecessor in stride.

Do not let anyone or anything stop you in your journey to find out what happens to the undead

Face the creatures of nightmares