The Top 10 RPGs Ever Made

Role-playing games, or 'RPGs', are my favorite type of video games. For those unfamiliar with the genre, RPGs involve taking a character or characters and improving your character(s) abilities to do things like fight enemies, solve puzzles, or perform a variety of other game-related tasks. Ever since I played my first RPG, I have been hooked. Here are my top 10 role-playing games of all time:

10) Skies of Arcadia: Legends - Gamecube. A 2002 turn-based RPG, this game included very cool cut-scenes for many of the attacks, a massive world to explore, great graphics, and an excellent story. This is a very lengthy game, and I actually stayed up all night several nights while playing this when I came to particularly interesting sections of the game.

9) Drakkhen -Several Platforms. I played this unique RPG on the SNES in 1991. Drakkhen was different from other RPGs out there due to its dark, moody music and three-dimensional gameplay, which was unusual on the SNES at the time. The game was extremely challenging and featured a dreamlike world that was not easy to forget.

8) Golden Sun: The Lost Age - Gameboy Advance. An unbelievable amount of gameplay and graphics were packed into this 2003 GBA cartridge. Aside from being one of the best games graphically to ever appear on the GBA, The Lost Age is also huge. It takes a long, long time to play and has some of the best turn-based combat on any RPG ever.

7) Gladius - Xbox, GameCube, PS2. I played this 2002 offering on my GameCube (for some reason, this game made my GameCube run very, very hot) and loved it with a passion. You lead a team of recruits through gladiatorial games as you work your way up to confronting the ultimate evil.

Unique for turn-based games, Gladius employed a sort of metered combat system that required you to input certain timed controller movements to pull off the attack you chose. Being able to recruit minotaurs and the undead onto your team of gladiators was really cool too.

6) Dragon Warrior - NES. One of the first console RPGs, this 1986 game featured turn-based combat and simple gameplay, but playing an RPG on a console (specifically, my brother's NES) was a completely new experience. Hilarious to me was the fact that at the end of the game you could actually choose to let the final enemy (The Dragonlord) take over the world. Why would you fight for hours and hours only to let your worst enemy win without a fight?

5) Alternate Reality: The Dungeon - Various Systems. I played this classic 1987 RPG on my Atari 800 XL. This was a turn-based game that had you fighting through dungeons on four separate levels in an effort to make it through a section of the game known as The Gauntlet. Once you made it through The Gauntlet, you could confront the aliens behind the chaos of the dungeons.

4) Neverwinter Nights - PC. This 2002 game was the fullest realization of role-playing when it was released, allowing the player to choose from several classes, each with a large variety of skills. I played through this game many times as several different characters, and each time I played through it, I found something new. It is lengthy, filled with terrific stories and intrigue, and is challenging to players of all skill levels.

3) Ultima - Various Systems. The godfather of all modern role-playing games, I played this game in 1982 when it was released for Atari 8-bit computer systems (I had an Atari 800 XL). Ultima had a depth of gameplay unknown at its time. One of the great classics of turn-based RPGs, Ultima remains a seminal game of the 80's.

2) Diablo - PC. The first RPG I ever played online with other players, this 1997 game brought the hack-and-slash style of role-playing games (where battles are conducted in real time) to the fore. The number of special items in this game gave it tremendous replay value, and the ability to play online with friends for free made this the game to own for many years.

1) Gothic - PC. This game from 2001 centers on a nameless character who is thrown into a prison world populated by monsters, warriors, and treasures. You align yourself with one of three groups and attempt to defeat the evil entity known as The Sleeper.

This game was remarkable for its time due to its ability to immerse the player in a fully-realized world complete with changes from day to night, amazing amounts of interaction with non-player characters, and one of the greatest stories ever found in a video game. Suffice to say I played it many, many, many times.

Now that you know my top ten, give them a try. Perhaps one or more may find their way onto your top ten RPG list!