IGN: Top 100 RPGs of All-Time

[Ixion]

http://www.ign.com/top/rpgs

Here's the full list...

100] Ys Book I & II
99] Lunar: Eternal Blue
98] Shadow Hearts: Covenant
97] Final Fantasy VIII
96] Phantasy Star
95] The Legend of Dragoon
94] Vagrant Story
93] Tales of Phantasia
92] Diablo III
91] Fable II
90] Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
89] Fallout: New Vegas
88] Final Fantasy IX
87] Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
86] Shadowrun
85] Breathe of Fire II
84] Kingdom Hearts
83] Fire Emblem
82] Might and Magic IV: The Mandate of Heaven
81] Dragon Warrior VII
80] Dungeon Master
79] Icewind Dale 2
78] The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
77] Tales of Symphonia
76] Illusion of Gaia
75] Front Mission 3
74] Wizardry 8
73] Final Fantasy
72] Grandia II
71] The Bard's Tale
70] Demon's Souls
69] Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
68] Kingdom Hearts II
67] Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
66] Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
65] Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
64] Final Fantasy X
63] Skies of Arcadia
62] The World Ends With You
61] Chrono Cross
60] EVE Online
59] Phantasy Star IV
58] Freedom Force
57] Mass Effect 2
56] Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
55] Monster Hunter Tri
54] Neverwinter Nights 2
53] Ultima VII: The Black Gate
52] Odin Sphere
51] Wild Arms
50] Golden Sun
49] Dragon Quest V
48] Tales of Destiny
47] Xenogears
46] Pool of Radiance
45] Disgaea
44] Suikoden II
43] Valkyria Chronicles
42] Lunar: Silver Star Story
41] Xenoblade Chronicles
40] Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
39] Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
38] Phantasy Star II
37] Guild Wars
36] Shining Force II
35] Pokemon Black/White
34] Fallout
33] Ultima Online
32] The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
31] Neverwinter Nights
30] Jade Empire
29] Dragon Warrior
28] Fallout 2
27] Dragon Quest VIII
26] Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
25] Deus Ex
24] Baldur's Gate
23] Phantasy Star Online
22] The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
21] Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
20] EverQuest
19] System Shock 2
18] Dark Souls
17] Earthbound
16] Diablo
15] Secret of Mana
14] Final Fantasy Tactics
13] Planescape: Torment
12] Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
11] Final Fantasy VII
10] Fallout 3
9] Mass Effect
8] World of Warcraft
7] The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
6] Diablo II
5] Final Fantasy IV
4] Pokemon Red/Blue
3] Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
2] Chrono Trigger
1] Final Fantasy VI

And here's the ranking of the Final Fantasy titles, in case you're curious:

97] Final Fantasy VIII
88] Final Fantasy IX
73] Final Fantasy
67] Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
64] Final Fantasy X
14] Final Fantasy Tactics
11] Final Fantasy VII
5] Final Fantasy IV
1] Final Fantasy VI

[Cybertox]

I must say that the list is quiet decent, didnt expect such a list from IGN.

[Kuro]

Wha? No Persona 3? Pretty interesting list though.

[Ixion]

Wha? No Persona 3? Pretty interesting list though.

It's on there. #69.

[Kuro]

It's on there. #69.

Damn my eyes man.. Cool I must've skipped over it by accident.

[Blacksite]

You must be joking if you think Mass Effect 2 beats Skies of Arcadia.

[Fijiandoce]

no Grandia 1 at all? despite no J/RPG holding a candle to its battle system?

curse FFVII for releasing at the same time
at least 2 made it in

decent enough list though. i personally would move a few of them around however.

[Ixion]

You must be joking if you think Mass Effect 2 beats Skies of Arcadia.

It's not surprising seeing as Skies of Arcadia has a 75 on Meta and Mass Effect 2 has a 96. But things are different if you rank them solely as RPGs.

[Blacksite]

It's not surprising seeing as Skies of Arcadia has a 75 on Meta and Mass Effect 2 has a 96. But things are different if you rank them solely as RPGs.

It only got a 75 percent on Metacritic from 6 users, 2 of which didn't know what they were talking about. The actual user score is much higher. The enhanced Gamecube port did score higher though.

But it seems to me like it's more of a popularity contest than an actual ranking of games in the genre. You'll also notice that Mass Effect beat out Final Fantasy VII despite the latter having done much more.

I'm not saying it's a bad game but, like you said, things would be different if they actually ranked them solely as RPGs.

[Ixion]

It only got a 75 percent on Metacritic from 6 users, 2 of which didn't know what they were talking about. The actual user score is much higher. The enhanced Gamecube port did score higher though.

But it seems to me like it's more of a popularity contest than an actual ranking of games in the genre. You'll also notice that Mass Effect beat out Final Fantasy VII despite the latter having done much more.

I'm not saying it's a bad game but, like you said, things would be different if they actually ranked them solely as RPGs.

They probably favor Mass Effect more due to its interactive storytelling. The introduction to this feature emphasized that these games were partly ranked based on "making decisions - good or bad - that impact the game world". And the Mass Effect series obviously has that.

Final Fantasy X, my favorite game, is only #64. But that's probably because it's not open-world and therefore less of an RPG.

[DeviousOne]

Happy Super Mario RPG: Legend of the stars made it on the list!

That game was epic and my first RPG game I ever played once I played that game I start playing other older rpgs on my snes.

[imINxile]

Played maybe ~20 on the list..being my favorite genre I see I have some gaming to do. Good to see my favorite series Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest well represented.

[Blacksite]

Played maybe ~20 on the list..being my favorite genre I see I have some gaming to do. Good to see my favorite series Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest well represented.

Personally, Dragon Quest VIII would be in my top 10. I had a blast with that game. Especially after playing the first three games on the Game Boy Color, it was nice to see how much they left unchanged while improving the visuals.

[imINxile]

Personally, Dragon Quest VIII would be in my top 10. I had a blast with that game. Especially after playing the first three games on the Game Boy Color, it was nice to see how much they left unchanged while improving the visuals.

Totally agree my man. Must have logged in 300+ hrs into the Cursed King till my saves died along with my phatty. DW4 for the NES sticks out as well. Cool chapters and the 5th being able to switch between all 8 characters was definitely cool for the time.

Great games on the list though..

[jlippone]

2] Chrono Trigger
1] Final Fantasy VI
Umm, no.

Lack of rogue likes on the list is a crime, especially as in some aspects those are most complex RPGs ever made. (well, perhaps outside batmud..which is absent as well..)

Currently those are only games, where enemies can properly pick up objects and use them. (IE. goblin with wand of wonders..)
Also many of those games simulate sounds and smell, which some of the monsters use for tracking prey.

[Body_Fortress]

I played and liked a lot of the games on this list but they still shoudn't be on the list.

I agree and disagree with this list, but they can't please everyone

[CliveNic]

FF VII only made it to #11? WTF?

[Lasombra]

This list surprised me a lot. IGN usually makes some bad choices (Metal Gear 4 not being in the top 20 PS3 games list despite the site giving it a 10/10), but this list just has me puzzled. I love FF2 (IV) so it surprised me that it got 5 cause I know it's not everyone's cup of tea compared to 3 (VI).