RPGamer’s RPGs of the Decade: 50-26

Welcome to RPGamer’s extravaganza of celebrating the games from the previous ten years. We have a week’s worth of posts to excite you all in what it is probably our biggest combined feature to date. More details and access to all of the other parts of the feature can be found on our introduction post.

This particular post is part one revealing the results of the site-wide selection of our favourite games of the decade. To start this off, we undertook an initial nomination periods, which was determined by the winner of our awards from those past years, with that group supplemented by a number of wildcards that may have been missed out for any reason. As for our regular awards, ports, enhanced remasters, and the like were not included in the eligible list of games. This gave us a still impressively list of a little over 100 titles to decide between in staff-wide vote. The results have been tallied and placed into three groups: those falling in a group ranked 50 to 26, another group for 25 to 11, and our top ten. Due to the fine, almost arbitrary margins between games outside of the top ten, we have elected to list them alphabetically rather than fully ranked.

Without further ado, let’s get to the games!

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Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

I spent a hundred hours on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. I haven’t sunk that much time into a game in decades! How many RPGs out there let you explore Ancient Greece and tell a compelling story with a historic setting? There aren’t a lot of RPGs out there that look at the ancient worlds, and believe me – it’s a wide world worth exploring. Letting you fraternize with historical figures or simply explore the islands of Greece, Odyssey has plenty of content, and a cheesy story to boot. The action-RPG combat is intuitive and fluid, and there’s something very satisfying about hunting down all the cultists and mercenaries. Odyssey transforms a stale action series into a bountiful and grand RPG that offers players so much from start to finish. — Sam Wachter

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Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk

The second of Gust’s Atelier trilogies for the PS3 started with soft, soothing lullabies to the sound of raindrops, and it ended with the grooviest final boss tune ever recorded. For the music alone, Atelier Ayesha would be a standout title, but its tale of sisterhood and heroism against a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting made it an interesting point in a highly variable series. — Michael Baker

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Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland

The Arland trilogy is what sealed my love and affection towards the Atelier series, but Atelier Totori is the game I still claim as the one to beat in terms of storytelling. Storytelling is not always this series’ strong suit, but Totori tells a compelling story about a girl trying to figure out the person she wants to become and the quest she sets out on to do so. It’s a beautiful story of courage and finding strength in unexpected ways. Totori’s strength lies in its narrative and supporting cast of characters, and for me has yet to be unseated as my favorite Atelier game. — Sam Wachter

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Bloodborne

My favorite of FromSoftware’s offerings to date, Bloodborne is a solid RPG, a great action game, and one of the best horror games of the decade. By shifting genres and having the game take place in a unique setting, it exemplifies how the Souls template can be focused and reconfigured to tackle different genres in interesting ways. — Zack Webster

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Child of Light

Child of Light was a genuine surprise when it released in 2014. It was the first 5/5 I ever scored here at RPGamer, and I still stand by it. This game was a love letter to JRPG fans, as it tells the story of a young girl who has been transported to another world, while her frail real body lies in Austria in 1895. There are strong fairy tale roots embedded in this story, the combat is reminiscent of games like Grandia, and it sports fantastic art direction and a stellar soundtrack by Cœur de pirate. Child of Light is for those of us who love subtle storytelling and being transported to whimsical worlds so different from our own. — Sam Wachter

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Diablo III

The long-awaited sequel to Diablo II finally saw the light of day in May 2012. Twelve years we waited for the next installment of this gothic hack-and-slash action role-playing game, even if it took some time for Blizzard Entertainment to streamline a lot of the mechanics and make Diablo III into the game many fans were waiting for. Many hours were lost in dimly lit catacombs and sewers, lighting up the area with the skills of my wizard or twirling around with my two handed axe as a barbarian, or taking on new rifts just to find some more cool loot. And that is why it deserves a place on this list. — Erik van Asselt

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Divinity: Original Sin II

Divinity: Original Sin II is the gold standard for turn-based combat and a huge step forward for player empowerment in RPGs. Its combat is a great balancing act of tactical and emergent gameplay in the genre and full co-op means the whole thing can be enjoyed with a friend. PC RPGs came back in a big way this decade and Original Sin II is the best modern example. — Zack Webster

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Dragon Quest Builders 2

The original Dragon Quest Builders was a bold move, combining Japan’s most popular RPG series with the popular building/sandbox genre. Dragon Quest Builders 2 takes everything about the first game and gives it the polish needed to shine. Access to infinite building materials, unbreakable weapons, and a massively expanded on-hand inventory were all improvements on a formula that was already fun. I easily sunk around 100 hours into this game. The creative potential in Dragon Quest Builders 2 is limitless. — Kelley Ryan

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Fallout 4

Bethesda is a developer with a very particular style, one that doesn’t fully click for everyone. The company’s lack of playtesting doesn’t help — bugs and other issues are synonymous with its output. What Fallout 4 does incredibly well is give an enormous place to explore and set the player free to do so. It’s very easy to wander around and find interesting things in out-of-the-way places, making it incredibly rewarding to not go straight on a route that hits only the core story. So much of this game is found around the margins that to only tackle its main plot is to see the tip of an iceberg without ever realizing what lies under the waves. — Mike Moehnke

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Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy XV‘s tagline says it best: “A Final Fantasy for fans and first-timers.” This game blends the classic aspects and themes of Final Fantasy while giving it a fresh new direction that the series needed. Its heartwarming take on friendship and brotherhood gives the story its soul. The game also offers a fun world to explore, be it in a fancy car or on the back of a chocobo. — Kelley Ryan

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Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

It came as a surprise when Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was announced. This reimagining of Fire Emblem Gaiden combines some quirks of the older game, such as towns that can be visited, dungoens that can be explored, and magic expending HP instead of tomes, along with contemporary series staples like supports, voice acting, and casual mode. With a strong story and characters, improved gameplay over the original Gaiden, and fantastic music, among other things, Shadows of Valentia ended up being one of the best tactical games on the 3DS. — Cassandra Ramos

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Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

After years helping to keep the PSP afloat, the Monster Hunter series moved on to Nintendo platforms with Monster Hunter 3. Though that title didn’t do much to bring the series forward, its follow-up built on the many years of iterative development to create what was the pinnacle of the series. A well-done story mode builds up to a satisfying conclusion, largely fixing the biggest weakness of the series, while the addition of aerial moves and mounting of monsters along with more vertical levels completely changed many dynamics of hunts. Best of all, the new monsters were great and came with some of the best animation you’re likely to see on the 3DS. Monster Hunter: World has given the series a new console following, but Monster Hunter 4 remains king of its handheld era. — Michael Apps

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Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Few would dispute that the marriage was made in heaven when Level-5’s RPG know-how merged with Studio Ghibli’s famous animated visuals to give us this ocular treat. But when the eye candy is backed up with unforgettable characters (Mr. Drippy is not leaving our collective consciousness for a good while), enjoyable monster raising and collecting, and an incredibly vibrant fantasy world to explore, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch becomes a shoo-in for our list of favorites. — Pascal Tekaia

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Pokémon Black and White

The Pokémon games have never really been about the story, but Game Freak really did its best to break that stereotype in Pokémon Black and White. It’s an ambitious plot with well-developed characters, particularly the anti-villain N. Even aside from the story and characters, the Unova region, 150 new monsters, and a fantastic soundtrack make Pokémon Black and White fantastic entries in the series. — Cassandra Ramos

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Pokémon Sun and Moon

The beautiful Alola region, where Pokémon Sun and Moon take place, features perhaps the biggest shake-up in the Pokémon series thus far. Gone are the gyms of the past; instead, each of the four islands has the unique Island Challenge, in which trainers must perform tasks other than battle to become the best. Add a roster of well-designed Pokémon and commendable plot and characters, and you’ve got two of our favorite games in the series. — Cassandra Ramos

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Radiant Historia / Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology

You could say I have a soft spot for role-playing games that involve time travel. Even though the original Nintendo DS version of this game never saw a European release, I still found an import copy. Switching between timelines to proceed in the game is still an amazing concept. A great story mixed with a strategic turn-based battle system kept the game in my DS for a very long time. — Erik van Asselt

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SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions

SaGa is a series that can be hit or miss, with few opinions in-between. Imagine my amazement when latest iteration SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions gained praise and approval from all corners. It’s nice to see that the odd and experimental can still have a place in the industry. — Michael Baker

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

The game that introduced us to the continent of Zemuria spawned a massive, connected series with nine entries already released in Japan. It took a long time for Trails in the Sky to reach us in the west, but when it arrived we were in for a treat. Estelle shines brightest as the leading lady, but everyone gets their more than deserved time in the spotlight as the characters of Liberl swiftly burrowed a place in our hearts. — Alex Fuller

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

You might think that an epic story easily spanning upwards of eighty hours would be a game’s defining characteristic, but it’s the players who love deep worlds who are the true winners here. Not only is the world in Trails of Cold Steel rich with lore, complex characters everywhere you turn, and locations so realistic you’ll actually take time to admire their architectural designs, but all of this is done in lockstep with over half a dozen other games in various spin-off series that all tie together to paint one grand in-game universe that has yet to be rivaled. — Pascal Tekaia

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

A lot of people stand by A Link to the Past being the best title in the long-running Legend of Zelda series. A Link Between Worlds may not change that stance, but it’s an incredibly good way to lure in those who have fond memories of A Link to the Past. It’s a full-fledged sequel to that game with similar locations, but does enough different to not be a rehash. This is the rare game that validates warm nostalgic feelings for a previous game without just copying it, and is a sign that Nintendo can still make a truly excellent 2D Zelda title. — Mike Moehnke

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The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

It really says something when a game manages to get a place in the top games lists of two separate decades, but this is one that deserves that accolade. From the little Game Boy game that could do the impossible within its limited hardware to the snazzy new completely remade version on the Nintendo Switch, Link’s Awakening proves that quality is timeless. — Michael Baker

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Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE wasn’t quite what we originally expected when the project was announced as a crossover between Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem. But what we ended up with was still highly entertaining and appropriate given its story focus on the entertainment industry. Making good use of its poppy audio and visuals, the game is packed full of charm and drew many RPGamer staff to it. — Alex Fuller

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Undertale

The game that launched a million pieces of fan art, Undertale is an indie RPG darling that redefines what it means to tell a meaningful story. With its ear-wormy music, unique battles, and unforgettable characters, Undertale is an experience that any fan of classic RPGs will adore. — Kelley Ryan

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Yakuza 0

While it wasn’t the first Yakuza game I played, Yakuza 0 was the one that really made me a fan. Whether it was the compellingly melodramatic story, side-stories that ranged from heartwarming to enjoyably goofy, or playing around with the various combat styles of both Kiryu and Majima, there was a lot about the game that really grabbed me. It was also the game that made me fall in love with Majima, as it delved into the deeper layers of his character. For all of that, I’m not afraid to admit that this is now one of my all-time favorites. — Ryan McCarthy

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Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Nihon Falcom’s longest-running series could have been looking a little long in the tooth in this millennium. Falcom has done a great job of keeping it from getting stale though, and Ys VIII manages that very well. It’s the longest game in the series, but exploring its enormous world is interesting throughout, especially thanks to the blazing fun of cutting through tons of enemies in quick succession. The original localization got enough complaints that NIS America redid it, but that just shows how deeply invested people became. If Ys VIII had been off-putting, fans wouldn’t have swarmed NIS America en masse to demand a revision. — Mike Moehnke

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