5 Longest Video Games Ever, Not Counting MMORPGs

MMORPGs (online role-playing games like World of Warcraft) can easily take up hundreds and hundreds of hours. Developers are constantly adding new quests to complete and you can spend plenty of fun afternoons with your friends just goofing off online. Aside from these online games, there are quite a few single player video games that are also incredibly long. These games have long, intricately woven plots, often repetitive gameplay, and so many unlockable secrets, you will never be able to say that you've gotten them all.

As you might expect, these long winded games are all forms of RPGs (role playing games) which often involve a lot of strategy and hours of plot. These games are not for everyone, but some people enjoy a game that they can really sink in to. A game like Call of Duty will last about 10 hours or so. An average RPG may last about 30 hours. But these 5 RPG games take it a step further. If you want to buy only one game this year, then read on to find it--this list of the 5 longest games ever will give you just what you want.

1. Final Fantasty XII

Released in 2006, this popular installment of the famous Final Fantasy series is based on an MMORPG style of play in a completely one player environment. The actual storyline of this game is long itself (reportedly at least 100 hours), but when you add on top of this the almost endless side quests available in the game, that number quickly doubles. Final Fantasy games have always had a reputation for being long, but this one takes the cake. With huge levels that require a lot of battling and walking, this game will really test your patience for long games.

2. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army

This game is not only long itself but also has a painfully long name. Released in 2006 for Playstation 2, this game has an action role-playing battle system like Final Fantasy XII. Atlus is noted for its long RPGs including the famous Disgaea (listed below). One of the things that makes these games so long is the possibility for nearly endless replaying. This game includes a Game Plus mode which allows you to restart at the beginning of the game with all of the skills that you have. By playing through the game over and over you can unlock new secret levels and enemies to challenge your might. This game is easily 80+ hours.

3. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

This tactical RPG by Atlus was released in 2003 and became an instant cult classic because of its fun gameplay, wacky demon characters, and possibility for endless play. Because the characters in your army are customizable, it can take hours upon hours to get everyone that you want in your party. Most of this game is spent in battle and in fact there are virtually no actual levels to walk around in. This game, like Shin Megami Tensei includes a Game Plus mode which lets you continue through the game over and over again. Instead of having the traditional level cap of 99, this game allows players to reach the impossibly high level 9999. The result is virtually endless gameplay for anyone who won't get bored playing the same game forever. To go through the game just once will take about 80 hours.

4. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

This game is a single player RPG for the computer. In it, players complete quests and battle enemies much like one would in an MMORPG. However, there are so many enemies and quests programmed into the game that the gameplay quickly becomes practically endless. With computer games such as these, time flies by quickly and soon a player may find that they have spent well over 100 hours in front of their computer screen. This game was released for 2002 and was one of the first games to have such intricately long and addictive gameplay.

5. Dragon Warrior VII

This long RPG released in 2000 is full of plenty of fighting, customization, storyline, and characters. Despite disappointing graphics, the game received high reviews for its fun and long gameplay with easily over 100 hours of gaming. This game managed to find its way into players' hearts because it was not only long, like all of these games, but also fun at every corner. This is not something you can say about every game. Perhaps the lack of time they spent on graphics actually was made up by the gameplay. Definitely one of the first long RPGs.

These are just five long RPG video games that I have picked. There are many other out there perhaps longer. These games definitely push the limit on how long a game should be. Unfortunately for developers, a lot of gamers have expressed frustration at the length of some of these. Others, however, relish in the fact that they can play the same game for months on end without ever actually finishing it.

Source: http://www.helium.com/items/1526385-longest-video-games ; Wikipedia.org