There are many ways to play games, whether it is video gaming in all its many forms, offline gaming such as board games and wargaming, or even online casino with PayPal, but most gamers will have noticed that RPG is a monumental genre. One of the oldest and flagship gaming styles in the industry. Role-playing games allow the player to swap lives with another character for a while and decide how events will develop. That is, to play a role. It’s all about the degree of flexibility that the developers will allow the player. Nowadays there are RPG elements in almost every game and it is still extremely popular.
Today we’re going to talk about 10 of the best retro RPG games that some people were lucky enough to play as children.
Baldur’s Gate (1998)
An iconic role-playing game set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy world.
The gameplay of Baldur’s Gate is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game. The player takes control of a team of heroes and goes to explore a vast open world full of traditional RPG activities.
Baldur’s Gate’s key feature, which makes the game significantly different from other D&D adaptations, is the option to create only one hero. The remaining playable characters the player meets in the course of the game. Thanks to this solution it was possible to put a fascinating story of a blood feud into the plot.
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993)
Repeating the success of the first Ultima was very difficult. Surpassing it was even harder. Labyrinth of Worlds has succeeded in both. It is a first-person role-playing video game with dark dungeons, dangerous enemies, and pretty good graphics by the standards of 1993. And you should play it, especially if you are familiar with the later parts of the Ultima series.
Planescape: Torment (1999)
While other RPGs of the late nineties surprised us with masterpiece leveling systems and innovations in combat, Planescape: Torment bombarded the minds and hearts of gamers with an incredibly atmospheric, strange, surprising, and mesmerizing world.
Those who played it will never forget its plot, characters, events, and emotions. And it’s not just about nostalgia. Play it and you won’t regret it (better in the Enhanced Edition, it is available on Steam and looks more beautiful than the original).
Fallout 2 (1998)
Fallout 2 is the sequel to Fallout 1. The game begins when the Village Elder sends the protagonist on a quest for a fantastic device called G.E.C.K.
Compared to the original, the sequel has not undergone significant changes in gameplay and graphics. Instead of inventing new mechanics, the developers focused on a more detailed working out of the game world and the plot. However, this was quite enough to eclipse the original almost completely and become a true classic among the projects in the RPG genre.
Wasteland (1988)
Many consider it as one of the first RPGs to give us a post-nuclear setting. In this game, you will survive, explore a few settlements, collect equipment, and complete quests. If you decide to play, grab the 2013 re-release, which features improved visuals and optimized sound.
Final Fantasy VII (1997)
When Final Fantasy VII was released back in 1997, it had one global mission: to show the world that RPGs are cool. And we all know how that story ended. Final Fantasy VII wasn’t just an excellent game, it set a new high standard for the RPG genre.
And the credit goes not only to the screenwriters, the atmosphere, the story, and, what’s most important, the final scene which is simply incredible but to the development team as a whole. Perfect for its time graphics in “almost” 3D, awesome CG-cinematics, fascinating combat system, and just a well-coordinated work of all elements. Final Fantasy VII is one of those games for which you want to erase your memory and experience these emotions again.
Xenogears (1998)
It is understandable if you’ve ever seen Xenogears walkthrough or gameplay but haven’t played it and don’t know why it made this top. From a gameplay standpoint, this game doesn’t look exciting, but that’s not why it’s loved either.
If you are a fan of this game, you will understand that the most important thing about Xenogears is the story. About 80 hours of incredibly well-crafted story that seamlessly alternates between treasure hunting, saving the princess, and exploring dungeons, but at some point, you have to insert disc number 2 and stare at your monitor and read out tons of text, occasionally interspersed with gameplay. However, this should not upset you, because the game has mechs, which means you won’t be bored.
Diablo Series (since 1996)
Diablo was born from trying to make a colorful roguelike about endless dungeon runs and collecting randomly generated loot, with multiple characters to choose from and powerful enemies who don’t mind crowding in and surrounding the catacomb explorer. All of this has evolved into one of the benchmarks of action RPG and hack-and-slash.
An epic story about demonic creatures that are trying to break free from their confinement and enslave humanity was added. Diablo 2 has long been a favorite pastime of online players who went on quests together to kill the game’s strongest boss in search of the rarest reward.
Heroes of Might and Magic III (1999)
The plot of the game is build on an individual state confrontation on a large game map in a fantasy world. The player begins with a small city with the only task – to capture the opponents and gain power over all the lands. In the story company, the player will be able to go through a whole chain of scenarios connected by one line.
The player takes control of the heroes, who must explore the global map of adventure, capture enemy castles and fortresses, as well as collect a stronger army, buying and hiring new warriors. The combat system of the game is represented by turn-based battles. In battle, there is a field on which fighters move and attack, at this time the hero can use spells and scrolls.
The Legend of Dragoon (1999)
The Legend of Dragoon is a classic Japanese console fantasy RPG. A gripping story, which tells about the Dragoon flying men, a variety of weapons and artifacts, and flawless graphics for the 1999 version of the game.
There are three game modes: a world map, a field mode, and a battle mode. The player controls the characters with basic actions – attack, defense, magic, items, escape, as well as 2 additional options – transformation and special transformation.