RPG's Meet Should Play
This is a list for my roommate who has gotten into RPG's recently. This is my recommended list that hopefully represents the full spectrum of RPG types and most of the major publishers and series.
List items
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Square's best 'new' (post psx) rpg. Also a great example of a turn-based console jrpg.
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Aside from maybe Persona 3 and 4, Atlus' strongest offering to the rpg world. Another turn-based console jrpg, but quite different from FFX.
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The last of the big three jrpg turn-based series. No rpg list would be complete without a offering from Dragon Quest.
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One of the gamecube's few offerings, but good regardless. Turn-based rpg, but great writing, unique graphics, and the Mario world theme make it unique enough to be here.
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No way I'm going to choose one of the many, many versions. At least one should be played you decide which. Turn-based monster battles.
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The newest good example from the Tales series, and a strong real-time console jrpg.
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Another Japanese action rpg, although heavy on the rpg part. Also features the unique world-building and photography/inventing mechanics.
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A solid representation of a Japanese action rpg. The second game shifted away from its Disney influence but it's still largely a better game than the first.
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One of Nippon Ichi's classics and a more modern example of a strategy rpg than Tactics.
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A strategy rpg, although more character-focused and action-y than Nippon Ichi's stuff.
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A solid offering from Bioware and also a real-time western-style rpg.
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Still has to live up to some of it's ambitions, but a much better game than the first. Western real-time rpg. Heavy focus on making the character whoever you want him to be.
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Bethesda's offering on this list and a good example of an open-world western real-time rpg. Note that the PC version allows plugins and thus greatly extends the game's life.
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A small example of the RPG's coming out of Europe, also western-style and real-time.
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King of the genre the first game spawned, it's still got plenty of people playing it online after 9 years. Synonymous with real-time "Hack'n'Slash" and ancestor of WOW's loot obsession.
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One of the more popular free-to-play MMORPG's, also 2D and real-time.
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Everybody knows it; 11 million play it. Be careful of its addictive properties, but it is still arguably the best in its class. Real-time MMO.
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Rogue-like, I won't delve further into this specific genre. But this is one of the most extensive rogue-likes out there. It features the classic rogue-like themes, such as permadeath randomized items and dungeons, and ASCII graphics. It's also brutally hard compared to everything else on this list.
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This marks the end of the pure rpgs and the start of the games with rpg elements. This list is attempting to be modern, so Shadow Complex will have to represent the metroidvania genre. It is quite faithful to its predecessors.
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The most recent big-console version of the series everyone is undoubtedly familiar with. Said to be the best entry since Ocarina. Action-adventure-rpg.
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Pretty Zelda-clone with painting elements. Good thing the game is much more than the sum of its parts.
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