20 of the Greatest Old School RPGs Ever Made

Image via Complex Original

Year: 1996-Present
Platform: PC, Mac, 
Publisher: Blizzard

While Diablo may seem limited in terms of depth, customization, and non-linear gameplay when compared to other entries on the list, the series perfectly crystallizes how an action role-playing game can be both engaging and appealing to a larger audience.

Some role-playing games have the tendency to be remarkably exclusive, but the Diablo series manages to make hack n' slash dungeon crawling accessible thanks to an intuitive and welcoming user interface. Combine that with the universal appeal of a 'go kill the Devil' narrative and you've got yourself one of the most popular RPGs ever coded.

Year: 1993
Platform: SNES
Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs

When growing up, did you have a Super Nintendo or a Sega Genesis? It matters on this list, since Shadowrun was a pretty different game on both consoles.

On the Genesis version, it was more of an action-RPG, kind of similar to what you might find today (it was ahead of its time). But on the SNES, it was more of a traditional RPG, with an emphasis on story and dialogue.

The cyber-punk feel set it ahead of the pack, though, as did gaining karma and entering into cyberspace. It was a unique little game and a predecessor of what was to come in the modern age. (Oh, and let’s please not discuss the first-person shooter that it later became for the 360. That game was God-awful!)

Year: 1997
Platform: PC
Publisher: Bethesda

When Bethesda first began work on its now legendary Fallout series, the world had already seen so many iterations and rehashes of post-apocalyptic flavored games, they knew they would have to create something remarkable to set Fallout apart.

Capitalizing on post WWII fear and paranoia of atomic weapons, Bethesda designed the world of the Fallout series with an immediately iconic and recognizable Cold War/Americana aesthetic. Marrying this overall design with a deeply immersive role-playing game experience has made the series a high-water mark other titles are compared to for the last 15 years.

Year: 1986
Platform: NES
Publisher: Nintendo

If this article were written in Japan, Dragon Warrior would be the number one game on this list. Didn’t you hear? New Dragon Quest games, as the series is called in Japan, come out on weekends and holidays so a whole lot of people don’t take off work to play it upon release.

We’re going to put it a little bit lower on this list, though, simply because, while great, we feel there were far-better RPGs of yesteryear. With the original game’s simple beginnings—rescue the princess and kill the dragon—to its more advanced party system and storyline in the prequel, Dragon Warrior III, the series became famous for its grinding and leveling-up system, which became staples of the genre. All classics, through and through, the initial, 8-bit series is still all playable today. And we do play them. Blue slimes, beware.

Year: 2000
Platform: PS1
Publisher: Sony

While suffering from some of the trappings of less than memorable role-playing games, The Legend of Dragoon makes the list thanks in part to a deft sense of timing.

One of the first 3D RPGs released by Sony for the first PlayStation, the title would become a cult classic thanks to its dramatic cut-scenes and cinematics. This was still in the hey-day of multiple disc titles like Final Fantasy VII and VIII, and Dragoon still managed to make an impact at a time when the term RPG was nearly synonymous with the Final Fantasy franchise. A petition to reboot the series was submitted by fans of the title in the hopes to rescue Dragoon from obscurity.

Year: 1981
Platform: Apple II, Commodore 64, Commodore VIC 20
Publisher: Origin Systems/Electronic Arts

A very different kind of RPG for its time, Ultima would use its dungeon crawling and first person gameplay as a precursor for the emerging western RPG genre.

From its very simple wireframe enemies in The First Age of Darkness, to the more, of-the-time combat and RPG elements of Ultima VI: The False Prophet for the SNES, the Ultima series provides some very different and unique gameplay elements that have shaped the market to what it is today. 

Year: 1988
Platform: Commodore, DOS, Apple II
Publisher: Electronic Arts

One of the oldest entries on the list, Wasteland was a generation ahead of role-playing games in terms of scope and ambition.

Another title that sees the world reduced to a radioactive hellscape after a nuclear holocaust, Wasteland is the spiritual forerunner to the Fallout series. It was developed by the same people from Interplay that would go on to work on the Fallout titles at Bethesda. The game's mechanics were directly modeled after old pen and paper tabletop games that saw your characters gain experience and increase in level while exploring a persistent world.

Your decisions carried over from one play to the next and Wasteland was one of the first titles to institute this feature.

Year: 1993
Platform: SNES
Publisher: Capcom

When the company that made Mega Man and Street Fighter wanted to make an RPG, most people scoffed.

Save those at Squaresoft and Enix. What we wound up getting is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure series, with Ryu and Nina, always at the lead. The gameplay for the two SNES games is pretty standard and traditional in the realm of fantasy games. But the games came at a time when RPGs were all the rage on the SNES, and BoF I and II were two of the greatest.

Though, if we were to pick, we’d choose the first one. It just had a smoother storyline.

Year: 1993
Platform: Super Nintendo
Publisher: Square Enix

Another Square Enix 16-Bit title of the Super Nintendo era, Secret of Mana could almost have been lost in the shuffle of top-down role-role playing games of that generation.

It was the highly technical aspects of the title that set it apart from other cloyingly sweet, Manga inspired titles of the times. An innovative real time battle systems, highly adaptable cooperative play, and a 'ring command' menu system (this system paused the battle in order for players to make commands in a more controlled manner) all made Mana another cult classic that many ageing gamers would love to see return.

Year: 1996
Platform: SNES
Publisher: Nintendo

Though there was only one RPG, the Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi games, while similar, come a bit too late to be on this list, Super Mario RPG was such a landmark RPG that it had to be included.

There was no other game like it. Incorporating familiar elements such as jumping and hitting blocks for coins and battling enemies like goombas and turtles, Super Mario RPG is so unique that we sometimes forget that it was an RPG at all.

Super Mario RPG was aces back then, and it’s aces today. We love this game.

Year: 1995
Platform: Sony PS1 (originally)
Publisher: Konami

While immediate comparisons to Final Fantasy VII are unavoidable, Suikoden establishes its independence in several meaningful ways.

Firstly, it's one of the few titles that allows a massive roster of characters to be recruited. 108 characters, not all playable, are able to be convinced to join your cause and help overthrow the corrupt sovereign state. Secondly, Suikoden is one of the few titles that takes the 'chosen one' trope and throw it out the window by forcing you to focus on customized interactions within you party. Still a beautiful game all these years later.

Year: 1991
Platform: Sega Genesis
Publisher: Sega

Shining Force is so Genesis.

Being a tactical RPG, the combat just seems to move so much quicker (it must be that blast processing), and the story doesn't waste any time. That said, the first game in the series, Shining in the Darkness, feels more like a computer game, with its dungeon-crawling and spell casting. And you gotta love that music. That, too, is so Genesis.

Year: 1996
Platform: Super Nintendo
Publisher: Square Enix

Another not entirely strict RPG, Terranigma is in the same action role-playing vein as  The Legend of Zelda series.

A welcoming and deep story about the Earth's resurrection and evolution. The game holds up surprisingly well considering its Super Nintendo era release.

Year: 1987
Platform: Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega

Yeah, as long as we’re still talking about Sega, we might as well bring up their other ongoing series, Phantasy Star, which started off on the Sega Master System and had a female protagonist (following on the heels of Metroid, which came out a year earlier).

The first two games were very sci-fi, which, in itself, was different from the medieval D&D style story-lines of its contemporaries (Like Dragon Warrior). But the third game kind of changed all that and turned into a real fantasy, which was cool, but unexpected (we did love how it spanned multiple generations). The fourth game eradicated all that and went sci-fi again, and it’s that inconsistency that actually makes the early series charming. It moved all over the place, and we wouldn't have had it any other way.

Year: 1998-2012
Platform: PC-iOS, and everything in between.
Publisher: Interplay, Black Isle Studios, Atari

One of the longest enduring and multi-console inhabiting role-playing game, the Baldur's Gate series is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rule book and offers a much, much deeper RPG experience.

The most recent incarnation of the series, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, can be found on iOS and Mac OSX.

Year: 1995
Platform: SNES, PlayStation
Publisher: Square Enix

Another one-off, this title would be much higher if it had a follow-up on the younger consoles (Again, Chrono Chross is disqualified. It came after Final Fantasy VII).

A landmark title, its multiple endings and engrossing characters still resonate with gamers today. There was never another game like it. We've time-traveled to the past, we've time-traveled to the Apocalypse (In…1999?), and we time-traveled to the future, and it was extraordinary every step of the way.

Year: 2001
Platform: PC
Publisher: Sierra Entertainment

If you guessed that this cult classic RPG came out in 1997 judging from the graphics alone, you'd probably be right on the money.

Unfortunately, this wildly popular RPG was released in 2001, but don't let the dated aesthetic fool you. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura was a deeply itntricate role-playing experience that generated legions of fans. 

Year: 1996
Platform: PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Arcade, PSP, Vita, 3DS
Developer: Atlus

The Persona series is known - and embraced - for being different. Each installment features a series of teenagers who summon their Personas (thing Jungian archetypes here) into being during combat.

Later version of the series would add a sort of high school simulation, making the protagonists students by day and heroes by night.

The games are known for strong story lines across the board and are renowned for being incredibly polished. 

Year: 1999
Platform: PC
Publisher: Interplay

Another ahead of its time title from Interplay, Planescape: Torment was considered a commercial flop, but is still considered a critical masterpiece. A deep, deep focus on dialogue and a narrative that flipped traditional RPGs on their asses.

You control The Nameless One, an Immortal that must explore the Planescape world trying to discover why you cannot die. Heavy stuff for a title that came out the same year as the firsrt American Pie film.

Year: 1987-Present
Platform: NES
Publisher: Square Enix

Dragon Quest might be a more revered series in Japan, but FF was the series that made RPG’s truly accessible in the US.

With its job system, active-time battles, epic story lines, and beautiful music, Final Fantasy was and will always be the premier old-school RPG series that was never bested by anything else. Some consider Final Fantasy VI to be the greatest RPG ever made. We wouldn't go that far, but it’s up there on our list. There was nothing else like it. With Final Fantasy, Japan once ruled the world.