20. Final Fantasy IX (2000)

Developer: Square

Genre: Action Turn-Based Role Playing Game

Theme: Final Fantasy Universe

Amongst the contested “greatest Final Fantasy games” has always been the ninth installment. After the darker run of games before it, Final Fantasy IX brings back a more light-hearted tone, without dumbing down the content.

The player controls Zidane, a member of a bandit group called Tantalus, who begins the game by kidnapping Princess Garnet of Alexandria on her sixteenth birthday celebration. After she divulges her concerns about her mother’s strange behavior and her desire to meet Regent Cid.  After the airship crashes, Zidane smuggles Garnet out and, along with some of the other sympathizers, takes her to see Cid.

However, they soon discover that the political turmoil goes deeper than they thought, and must fight to protect Garnet and Alexandria itself from a force that threatens to upheave the very kingdom.

Magic can be used for good or for evil

Uncover political turmoil and protect Garnet and Alexandria

19. Shadowrun Returns (2013)

Developer: Harebrained Schemes

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Cyberpunk Fantasy

Another game based on a tabletop RPG, Shadowrun Returns was a successful Kickstarter-funded project that brought the franchise to the new generation (barring the 2007 game of the same name which lies outside the continuity).

The game follows a player-controlled shadowrunner who receives a message from their late friend Sam Watts who states that he has put up a reward for anyone who could find and put his killer to justice.  The player then sets off to Seattle to avenge their friend and earn their reward, but when they get there they are pulled into a conflict that delves into the supernatural and must work together with other shadowrunners to survive.

Join up with other shadowrunners

Track down your friend’s murderer and get revenge

18. Divinity: Original Sin (2014)

Developer: Larian Studio

Genre: Action Turn-Based Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure

The latest game in the Divinity series follows a duo of characters controlled by the player. The characters are “Source Hunters”, who work to destroy a type of magic called “Source” as well as the practitioners of this magic, “Sourcerers”.

Following a traditional RPG formula, the players can challenge this game single-player or co-op as they investigate the Sourcerer conspiracy and deal with irregularities of space-time.  Bringing back the old fashioned style of gameplay and customizability, this game allows fans to fall in love with RPGs all over again.

As Source Hunters, it is your duty to find Sourcerers and destroy them

Investigate the Sourceror conspiracy and handle the space-time irregularities

17. Mass Effect 3 (2012)

Developers: BioWare & Straight Right

Genre: Third Person Sci-Fi Role Playing Game

Theme: Alien Invasion

Following directly after the events of Mass Effect: Arrival, Mass Effect 3 begins as the captured Commander Shepard is brought to Earth to answer for crimes against the galaxy and for working alongside the terrorist organization Cerberus.  Despite Shepard’s warnings of the oncoming invasion of the Reapers, a race of sentient spaceships bent on the destruction of all organic life, the council ignores the pleas and is taken by surprise as Earth is suddenly assaulted by the Reapers.  

Shepard escapes on the SSV Normandy and travels to different planets trying to find old and new allies alike to build an alliance strong enough to face against the Reapers and prevent the destruction of the entire galaxy.

The Grand Finale of the Mass Effect series, Mass Effect 3 is the culmination of the previous two games' accumulated world-building and decisions, forcing every conflict to come to a head. Old debts have to be settled and alliances need to be forged to unite a galaxy on the brink of extinction, and Shepard is the (wo)man at the heart of it all. While the ending has drawn some controversy, Mass Effect 3 is a titan of not just role playing games, but modern gaming in general.

Shephard must prevent the destruction of his entire society

The beautiful citadel was created to lure societies in… it is a trap!

16. Dark Souls II (2014)

Developer: From Software

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Dark Fantasy Adventure

Dark Souls II was the first direct sequel of the Souls games, and followed in the same world as the first game. Much like the first game, the story was minimalistic, and most of the strength of the game was based around the gameplay and its intense difficulty.

However, this game also improved on much of the formula as well as providing a stronger graphics engine and better AI.  Maintaining the bonfire system, the humanity system is removed in favor of single use “effigies” that give an even more challenging feel to the game.  The players are given another chance to live, and die, in the land of Drangleic.

Battle the Stone Knights, men who stayed at their post so long they became rock

Many parts of the world are still beautiful, but darkness threatens to cover the land

15. Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)

Developer: BioWare

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure

Bigger in scale than its predecessors, Inquisition begins as the world is in turmoil. A civil war rages in Orlais between the loyalists and the followers of the Grand Duke who seeks to take over the throne. Meanwhile, the events of the second game have led to the Mages going rogue and the Templars seceding in order to wage war against them.

After a peace conference between the Mages and Templars is breached by demons from the Fade, the sole survivor escapes after being marked on the hand with a strange symbol. The player takes control of this survivor as they discover that this mark allows them to close the rifts. Taking on the name of the “Herald of Andaste”, the player sets out on a journey to close the rifts that have opened throughout the land, and encounters the other conflicts of the land as they travel.

Combining the stream-lined combat of Dragon Age 2 with the open world and similar narrative of cataclysmic threats of Origins, Inquisition continues the proud BioWare tradition of important decision-making and connecting with the world around you.

War is around the corner, and violence is at every turn

The dragons are no peaceful beings

14. The Witcher 2 (2011)

Developer: CD Projekt RED

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure, Witcher

The game follows the events of the first game as Geralt is left as one of the few remaining witchers.  At the beginning of the story, Geralt is accused of assassinating the king of Temeria.  His interrogator soon believes that he is innocent, and together with Geralt’s ally, Triss Merigold, sets off with Geralt to find the true kingslayer.

Much like the first game, most of the story and the world is affected by the choices that Geralt makes, and much of it is even influenced by the choices made in the previous game. With a much improved gameplay style to it’s predecessor, and greatly improved graphics, The Witcher 2 went on to win over 50 awards, spanning from graphics, to story, to Game of the Year, clarifying it as one of the best RPG games of all time.

Witchers are monster hunters, seeking to destroy evil

Clear Geralt’s name and find out who really murdered the king

13. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (2014)

Developer: Blizzard Entertainment

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Dark Fantasy Adventure, Slay Demons

Diablo 3 was another game in the long line of Blizzard successes that helped to define its genre. Following the success of its predecessors, Diablo continued the eternal struggle between Heaven and Hell, with the humans known as the Nephalem intervening in the war and fighting to bring an end to Diablo once and for all.

The base game ends with the imprisonment of the forces of Diablo under the watchful eye of Tyrael.  Reaper of Souls begins with Malthael, the former Archangel of Wisdom, killing Tyrael’s allies and stealing the Black Soulstone that holds Diablo. Tyrael brings in the Nephalem to recover the stone and stop Malthael.

The true strength of the expansion pack is the new features that it brings to Diablo III’s formula. With the new class and the new Adventure mode, players are given tons more hours of new content that will breathe new life into the game.

Defeat Diablo once and for all

Become a participant in the struggle between light and dark, between Heaven and Hell

12. Planescape: Torment (1999)

Developer: Black Isle Studios

Genre: Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure

Another D&D based game, this game is set in the Planescape multiverse, taking place in Sigil, a city at the center of the multiverse, when the player takes control of the “Nameless One”, an immortal who, if killed, with wake up with amnesia.

The story begins during one of these “resurrections” as the Nameless One wakes up and sets off to investigate his past and the nature of his immortality.  Meanwhile, he must face against the “ghosts” of those who have died to fuel his resurrection.  Throughout his journey, he must deal with his past incarnations and face his own immortality as he travels throughout the multiverse.

Planescape: Torment is well-known for taking common pillars of Role Playing Games and spinning them on their head. The Nameless One doesn't set out to save the world, only caring about finding out his past. There are no weapons to equip, only tattoos and your own body can be used to survive. It is also famous for asking a particular question that should get any role player's mind ticking: "What can change the nature of a man?"

Try to understand your immortality

Come face to face with your own past incarnations

11. Final Fantasy VI (1994)

Developer: Square

Genre: Turn-Based Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Final Fantasy Universe

In the fanbase of Final Fantasy, there is a group of people who as diehard in their belief that Final Fantasy VI is the greatest in the franchise, if not one of the best RPG games ever. Taking a different path from the medieval settings of the prior games, the sixth installment takes the player through a steampunk setting as they follow the story of Terra Branford, who is under the control of the Imperial forces as they raid Narshe to find a recently-unearthed frozen esper.

During the raid, Terra breaks their control on her and kills them, losing her memories in the process. She encounters a treasure hunter named Locke Cole, who promised to protect her until she gains her memories back. As they journey to recover her memories, Terra must face against her previous captors and come to terms with her mysterious powers.

Face former captors

Use your newfound powers against enemies