One of the best things a video game can do is inspire others. Super Mario Bros. wasn't the first platform game, but it certainly paved the way for other platform games of its kind. DOWNFALL and Wolfenstein 3D were great early starters for the first-person shooter genre. Since RPGs and RPG mechanics are all the rage right now, let's take a look at games that were influential to the genre on specific levels.
10 Most Perfect RPGs of All Time, Ranked
Reaching the pinnacle of perfection as a video game is no small feat, but these titles managed to climb there thanks to their impeccable quality.
The following RPGs may not have created these mechanics, but they certainly popularized them over time. What's the next RPG or JRPG to do that? It's hard to say, but first let's examine all of these great examples.
Diablo
RPG-based action role-playing game
Diablo didn't create the idea of loot, as RPGs always had some kind of equipment system, be it from chests or monster drops. Diablo and its sequels can at least be popularized to make the loot-based action genre more popular, especially when Diablo 2 was released.
There are direct modern games that were inspired by Diablo series, inclusive Path of Exile 2 or Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr. The loot-based action RPG genre also evolved with shooters, and Diablo can really be thanked for leading the way for games that Borderlands 4 and Destiny 2.
Pokemon blue/red
Monster Catching On A Global Level
Pokemon blue
- Released
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September 28, 1998
- ESRB
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All
Pokemon blue and Pokemon Red didn't create the idea of befriending monsters to be companions in battle when they launched the Game Boy in 1996, although their systems were completely unique. Other progenitors include Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride 1992 on the SNES, and even some early ones Shin Megami Tensei games can be counted.
That said, there's a reason fans today call monster-catching games Pokemon clones, as the overall Pokemon franchise dominated this specific RPG subgenre. Palworld and Wuthering Waves are two modern examples of games that feature monster-catching mechanics of some sort, but there are also classics like Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and Yo-kai watch.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
The birth of the RPG Metroidvania
Firstly, Super Metroid helped establish what a good action game could be, meaning a game with an interconnected map that players would gradually progress through as they gained new powers. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night took this idea and added RPG elements to the mix, including level up and an equipment system, paving the way for the Metroidvania genre.
Calling something a Metroidvania is shorthand for a specific type of game, although some still prefer to use the search action description. Some good RPG examples of Metroidvanias include Gap, Touhou Luna Nightsand Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit In Wonder Labyrinthtogether with the future Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement.
Personas 3
Socially conscious teenagers
Personas 3 changed Persona series forever, creating the franchise for what it is known for today. This includes focusing on a group of high school students who go through a linear progression of days, choosing to hang out with friends to bond as much as they fight in turn-based battles.
10 Near-Perfect JRPGs, Ranked
A little tweak here and there, and there's no doubt that these JRPGs could have turned into serious GOTY contenders.
While RPGs included romance options before this, and there was an entire dating sim genre with RPG elements in Japan, Personas 3 definitely made the idea more of an inspiring factor for many games to come, or at least for a western audience. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and Fire emblem: Three houses are two major examples.
Demon's Souls
The Soulslike Is Born
Demon's Souls wasn't the first game FromSoftware created, but it's certainly the game that started a modern revolution in action RPGs: the Soulslike. Upon death, players leave their upgrade currency behind and must retrieve it via a corpse run, and this challenging nature can be attributed to roguelikes or even corpse run MMOs.
That said, the Soulslike experience is very different, and FromSoftware has developed its systems over time from Demon's Souls to Fire Ring. Some inspired examples include the recently released Nioh 3along with other greats such as Lies by P and The First Berserker: Khazan.
Dragon Quest 3: Seeds Of Salvation
Deeper class system
Class-based systems in RPGs can all be attributed to Dungeons & Dragonsthe tabletop edition, as many elements were derived from its many rulebooks. For RPG video games, at least from a JRPG angle, Dragon Quest 3: Seeds of Salvation was one of the major games to include a class system, later known as Vocations.
Players could recruit party members at pubs and then evolve their classes, choosing new ones, once they reached certain heights, and this was an NES game. Final Fantasy 3 would soon follow on the NES, which created the Job system for that series, and the idea of choosing classes in video games is so ubiquitous now, from Diablo 4 to Metaphor: ReFantazio. Total, Dungeons & Dragons is the real hero here, but no one can count out the far-reaching franchises that Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy have had.
Chrono Trigger
Time traveling combos
Chrono Trigger is one of those phenomena that's still hard to believe actually came together on the SNES, with its ideas slowly gaining popularity over time. It was a time-traveling RPG that included a world map with no random battles, enemies that appeared in dungeons, and characters that could team up with other party members to create double or triple attacks.
Sea of stars was definitely inspired by Chrono Trigger regarding the combo system, world map and encounter frequency, while the upcoming Threads of Time looks to be even more of an homage. Then there are other time-based RPGs like Brilliant History and Final Fantasy 13-2.
Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
Active turn-based battles
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is another SNES-era gem with very forward-thinking ideas that would branch out into two separate Mario-based RPG series: Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi. In turn-based battles, players can block damage with a well-timed button press, or they can increase their attack power with an extra command as well.
10 perfect RPGs that nobody talks about anymore
In a perfect world, these RPGs would be as accessible and as well-discussed as Skyrim, but sadly, they're barely talked about anymore.
This active turn-based combat system didn't take off immediately, but it's certainly becoming more and more popular as the overall genre of turn-based RPGs makes a comeback. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Sea of stars are two notable examples, with the forthcoming Dosa Divas be a future example.
Grounded
When you know, you know
Groundedor just the whole Mother series, inspired a future generation of indie creators to make weird RPGs. There's really nothing mechanically too different Grounded from other RPGs except for the roulette-based HP system and battle window, but when players jump into one Groundedstyle, they know what to expect.
Grounded-inspired games often have some of the strangest characters and can often have art styles that are unconventional. Undertale, Citizens of Earth, Hermit and Pigand even an action RPG that East can all be attributed to wild nature Groundedwhich is practically a very niche but specific subgenre at this point.
River City Ransom
Adding RPG elements to Brawlers
Beat 'em ups used to be one of the dominant genres in arcades and on consoles, but they all played the same, with players progressing linearly through levels from left to right. River City Ransom was different for an NES game, as players could explore the titular city in a proto-2D open-world fashion and level up their hero by eating at restaurants.
The layout design inspired immediately Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Gamebut since then there have been other brawlers with RPG elements as well that included more direct systems of leveling. Castle Crashers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge are two examples. While River City Ransom wasn't the biggest hit, its ideas really picked up slowly over time for the indie brawler scene, for sure.
8 Great Open World RPGs That Let You Play Your Way, Ranked
With varying degrees of choice systems and an open world to boot, gamers won't find more liberating RPGs than these.
