Board 8 > RPGamer's top 50 RPGs of the decade

(+) Yeah! (+)

yes, some action RPGs such as Zelda or Assassin's Creed are on the list. you'll survive without exploding about it. this is basically our game of the decade minus the big Nintendo games!

https://rpgamer.com/2020/04/rpgamers-rpgs-of-the-decade-25-11/

50-26 (not ordered):

Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk
Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland
Bloodborne
Child of Light
Diablo 3
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Fallout 4
Final Fantasy XV
Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Pokemon Black & White
Pokemon Sun & Moon
Radiant Historia
SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions
Trails in the Sky FC
Trails of Cold Steel
Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Zelda: Link's Awakening
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Undertale
Yakuza 0
Ys 8: Lacrimosa of Dana

25-11 (not ordered)

Bastion
Bravely Default
Bravely Second
Disco Elysium
Dragon's Dogma / Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Fallout: New Vegas
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Monster Hunter: World
NieR
NieR: Automata
Octopath Traveler
The Banner Saga
Trails in the Sky SC
Trails of Cold Steel 3
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 / Torna

Top 10

10. Horizon Zero Dawn
9. Fire Emblem: Awakening
8. Dark Souls
7. Final Fantasy 14
6. Persona 5
5. Xenoblade Chronicles
4. Mass Effect 2
3. Witcher 3
2. Zelda: Breath of the Wild
1. Dragon Quest 11

---

Not a bad list. Needs more ME3 though!

---

transience posted...

you'll survive without exploding about it

speak for yourself

---

I think it's hilarious how every big and small RPG is on here but Skyrim is nowhere to be found

---

We're playing VERY fast and loose with the term RPG I see.

Even if you stretch BotW into fitting that label the other Zeldas sure af don't. The latter Assassin's Creeds fit that label much better.

Also I thought Atelier Ryza was considered the best entry in that series in a long time. Any series fans vouching for their picks here?

---

Lol Sun & Moon. What is the banner saga? At least some of the top 10 is ok

That's a great looking top 5.

transience posted...

I think it's hilarious how every big and small RPG is on here but Skyrim is nowhere to be found

This genre and community isn't my forte, but it seems more and more likely that Witcher 3 has COMPLETELY usurped the status Skyrim had several years ago.

---

A list that actually includes Cold Steel!? Also nice to see Yakuza 0 on there.

---

My hill to die on: DISRESPECT for Bloodborne. It made the list, sure, but outside the top 25? Ranking Bastion ahead of Bloodborne is a little too cheeky for me.

---

CaptainOfCrush posted...

That's a great looking top 5.

This genre and community isn't my forte, but it seems more and more likely that Witcher 3 has COMPLETELY usurped the status Skyrim had several years ago.

my biggest bracket regret is bailing on Witcher 3 to the finals. I had it for half the bracket making period and backed out when looking at more results.

---

zelda isn't Rpg

---

Props for including Nier 1. That game destroys Automata IMO.

---

Of course Awakening is the FE that scored the highest

---

not even one Tales game. Berseria really deserved it, too!

MechanicalWall posted...

We're playing VERY fast and loose with the term RPG I see.

Even if you stretch BotW into fitting that label the other Zeldas sure af don't. The latter Assassin's Creeds fit that label much better.

Also I thought Atelier Ryza was considered the best entry in that series in a long time. Any series fans vouching for their picks here?

Ayesha and Totori are a lot older than Ryza!
---

THEY TOOK OUR JOBS

Mmos? Ass creed? Zeldoes?

not in my country!


---

Dragon Quest 11 was indeed an amazing experience.

This list makes me want to commit to playing octopath traveler and bravely default 2 this year.

---

Berseria is a major snub, but Xenoblade in the Top 10 and Nier 1 being included balances the ledger.

---

two of the best Atelier games, Trails SC in top 25, Ys 8, and original NieR.

great list

---

Divinity not even close to being top 10 and DQ at #1 LOL

---

I've been holding off on getting DQ11. I finished DQ7 not too long ago and still have DQ6 that I've barely started. But if DQ11 is that good, it's probably worth getting pretty soon.

---

An excellent list! Some stream of consciousness thoughts:

• Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 3 are the right choices for the franchise, and they are in the correct placement. I'm used to these games being overrated or completely excluded, so that was nice.
• Despite the frustration of the ending, I think there is enough good in Mass Effect 3 for it to be placed alongside equally flawed games like Fallout 4 and Final Fantasy XV
• FFXIV represent. Obviously hard to rank an MMO with expansions versus single release games, but FFXIV has consistently been great to excellent, and Shadowbringers has one of the stronger stories in the genre this decade.
• The single biggest missing title for me is Shin Megami Tensei IV, which would easily break my top 10.
• Other potential snubs: Pillars of Eternity I/II, Atelier Ryza, The Alliance Alive (edit: Just noticed Skyrim wasn't included - despite some misgivings about how it has aged, I would have a hard time excluding it)

---

The disrespect at F:NV and Bloodborne lol

This is legit one of the worst top lists I've seen. The only decent surprise is NieR making the list which shits all over Automata.

---

DQXI is up with DQV as being one of the best games in its series

---

MechanicalWall posted...

Also I thought Atelier Ryza was considered the best entry in that series in a long time. Any series fans vouching for their picks here?

Totori is from 2011 and Ayesha is from 2013. I would put Escha & Logy (2014) over those two myself, but those two are my next two favorites.

And yeah the whole Mysterious trilogy was below average and should basically be avoided

---

transience posted...

I think it's hilarious how every big and small RPG is on here but Skyrim is nowhere to be found

Yeah this makes zero sense. AC:O makes it but not fucking Skyrim?

---

Games I haven't played:

Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Fallout 4
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Pokemon Black & White
Pokemon Sun & Moon
Radiant Historia
SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

Bravely Second
Dragon's Dogma / Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Fallout: New Vegas
Monster Hunter: World
The Banner Saga

10. Horizon Zero Dawn
7. Final Fantasy 14

33/50 played not bad

Planning to play FFXIV this year. Not sure which of the others I'll eventually get around to..
---

Both Bravely games in the top 25? I mean I havent played the second game, but thats because the first one was just ok IMO.

---

I'm extremely mad that three zeldas are on an RPG list but that's balanced out by four trails games being there so it's fine

---

swordz9 posted...

Lol Sun & Moon. What is the banner saga? At least some of the top 10 is ok

An excellent SRPG, that is beautifully handrawn, set in alternate viking world with interesting combat and some VN(ish) multiple choice storytelling that follows your choices and potential character deaths over a trilogy.

Highly recommend.

---

My top 5 are SMT4/Apo, Etrian Odyssey 4/5, Rune Factory 4, Devil Survivor 2 and Culdcept Revolt, I guess I have bad taste.

transience posted...

9. Fire Emblem: Awakening

definitely not.
it's outclassed by most before it.

did laugh at bravely default so high too. we sure they finished the game?

---

actually, yeah, I'm disappointed by no Etrian game. 4 should definitely be on there.

---

EO4 was definitely better than waifu emblem and bravely default at least.


---

FE:A and BD both deserve to be higher.
---

TheRock1525 posted...

AC:O makes it but not fucking Skyrim?

Odyssey is a good game and Skyrim isn't so it checks out.

---

Several problems here.

Zelda games are not RPGs. They're action adventure games.

Yakuza also not an RPG except for Yakuza 7. The rest of the series are 3D brawlers.

Ass Creed also not RPGs. They're action stealth games.

HZD is questionable. I'd liken it more to just an open world adventure game like Far Cry or Just Cause but without the guns.

Also Trails in the Sky is not from this decade. They came out in the mid 2000s. Fantastic games though.

---

Highly suspect list.

---

transience posted...

you'll survive without exploding about it.

you underestimate how much it annoys me to regard zelda games as RPGs

like, it's not even a debatable thing that they're wrong here - swords and sorcery does not an RPG make

BASTION is on this list. Bastion isn't even anywhere close to being an RPG. it has no RPG mechanics.

GildedFool posted...

swordz9 posted...

Lol Sun & Moon. What is the banner saga? At least some of the top 10 is ok

An excellent SRPG, that is beautifully handrawn, set in alternate viking world with interesting combat and some VN(ish) multiple choice storytelling that follows your choices and potential character deaths over a trilogy.

Highly recommend.

i agree 100%

it's very strong and has a (to me) unique setting and premise. it has some oregon trail sprinkled in there, too.

probably my favorite non-action RPG of the decade. persona 5 is its competition. i think the art style is absolutely great as well.

the combat was unique enough to tickle my brain for a while. by chapter 3 (oh yeah, it's a trilogy, you have to buy it in 3 parts) i was getting a little fatigued, but made it through.

$75 feels steep for the full experience. I'd wait for a discount of some kind, i think it periodically goes down to 30 or 10 per episode

---

iiicon posted...

Odyssey is a good game and Skyrim isn't so it checks out.

I'm inclined to agree but the vast majority don't!

---

One wonders if they played so loose with the term RPG because even allowing for action RPGs, there weren't enough good ones to actually populate this list

---

DQ11 above BotW? Hm...

---

I've described Yakuza before as "as close as you can possibly get to an RPG without actually being one", so I wasn't as bothered by that.

---

FF14 is easily the best RPG of the last decade. So good

I was curious how it compared to other lists, so I looked up the Resetera one. It's from 2018 and is an all time list so it's not perfect, but here's the top 44 RPGs all the same.

44. Alpha Protocol
43. Diablo 3
42. Dragon Age Inquisition
41. Etrian Odyssey IV
40. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
39. Ni No Kuni
38. Pokmon Black/White
37. South Park Stick of Truth
36. Trails of Cold Steel
35. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
34. Pillars Of Eternity
33. Mass Effect 3
32. Shadowrun: Dragonfall
31. Divinity: Original Sin
30. Dark Souls 2
29. Yakuza 0
28. Bravely Default
27. Octopath Traveler
26. The Witcher 2
25. Shin Megami Tensei IV
24. Radiant Historia
23. Horizon Zero Dawn
22. Trails in the Sky SC
21. Final Fantasy XV
20. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
19. Fire Emblem Awakening
18. Dark Souls 3
17. Xenoblade Chronicles X
16. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
15. Nier
14. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
13. Trails in the Sky FC
12. Divinity: Original Sin 2
11. Xenoblade Chronicles 2
10. Undertale
9. Xenoblade Chronicles
8. Skyrim
7. Mass Effect 2
6. Nier Automata
5. Fallout New Vegas
4. Bloodborne
3. Dark Souls
2. Persona 5
1. The Witcher 3


---

FC > SC?

interesting

---

NFUN posted...

FC > SC?

interesting

yeah it was a group voting effort and enough people decided to vote for only one entry per series and picked their first entry into each series to give FC the edge

Don't agree with that but hey!

---

iiicon posted...

29. Yakuza 0

Why does this keep happening. Yakuza games are not RPGs damn it. (Except for Yakuza 7)

---