At the dawn of the HD era, it seemed like RPGs were gone for good; 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 13, the first HD game in the standard-bearing series, was divisive at best, and gaming tas🐽tes seemed to shift towards gritty shooters and bloody acꦚtion games. But the pendulum of popular opinion has swung back, and RPGs are easier to get into than ever before.
In addition to the vast array of excellent new RPGs, modern consoles also make it easier to get into old favorites wi♛th a broad sel𓆏ection of HD remasters to choose from. But with so many options, which classic RPGs are worth your time?
Updated December 21, 2022, by Michael Llewellyn: For fans 💫of the genre, RPGs and JRPGs can be timeless if the story is good. Classic titles like the ones on this list were always ahead of their time, but for these excellent games to get a remaster means fans can revisit them on new hardware, or a new generation of gamers can experience why these games are still held in high regard. This list is updated to include more remasters of RPG classics.
18 Crisis Core♈: Final Fan🐭tasy 7 Reunion
With character models rebuilt from the ground up, fans would be forgiven if they assumed that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion was either a full-blown remake or a new entry🔯 in the metaseries. Despite the updated visuals, Reunion is a faithful remaster of the PSP original.
Crisis Core tells the story of Zack, his friendship with Cloud, and his relationships with characters like Aerith, Sephiroth, and his mentor Angeal. The war with Wutai is explored in depth, as are the clon🌊ing experiments that lead to the events in the main title. While waiting for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Reunion is the perfect stopgap until then.
17 🅰 Tales Of Symphonia Chronicles
As one of GameCube's best RPGs, Tales of Symphonia introduced many fans to one of the most popular JRPGs series today. Don't be fooled by the cutesy character designs because Symphonia is one of the darkest entries in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Tales series.
Tales of Symphonia first got a remaster in HD for the PS3, and it was bundled with the - less well-received - direct sequel, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. The cell-shaded visuals and pre-rendered backdrops upscaled beautifully in HD, and the story is just as impactful now as when it first launched. The first title in the Symphonia series is set to get another remaster for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:in February 2023.
16 🐈 Persona 4 The Golden 🧜
First launched on the PS2, is still considered one of the greatest JRPGs ever. Once again, placing you in the shoes of a high school student, the protagonist finds themselves mixed up in a supernatural murder mystery full of twists, tur𓄧ns, and betrayals.
Persona 4 was remastered with ♔additional content and released as for the PS Vita. A PC version was launched in 2020, and PS4, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S fans will soon get their hands on a Persona 4 port in 2023.
15 🌠 Chron🦋o Cross
This long-awaited sequel to the beloved 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Chrono Trigger had big shoes to fill. And while it's a weirder game than its predecessor, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Chrono Cross features an atmosphere that's second to none, with gorgeous art direction and one of the best soundtracks in any video game ever. If you can get on its wavelength, it's a heck of an experience.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, the recent HD remaster of this underappreciated adventure, also includes the visual novel Radical Dreamers. This game, a side story to Chrono Trigger, was launched for the Japan-only Satel🅺laview peripheral; this marks the first official launch of a game that many thought would never make it to Western shores.
14 💧 Star Ocean: The Last Hꦕope
Though 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Star Ocean: The Last Hope isn't exactly a fan favorite in the series (that would be the PS1 entry The Second Story, which is still languishing in the RPG vault), it deserves a second look. Like its predecessors, The Last Hope sets itself apart from the pack with a unique science-fantasy setting and action-packed combat. It adds an extra-satisfying Blindside mechanic making its battles feel more frantic and fun.
The HD remaster of the game, launched in 2017 for the PS4 and PC, adds a host of improvements, with plenty of display options and the ability to toggle between the English and Japanese voice tracks. This fixes The Last Hope's biggest flaw — its horrendous English voice acting. So, there's no reason not to check it out.
13 V💙alkyria Chronicles 🧸
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Valkyria Chronicles is one of the most unique tactical RPGs out there. It was launched for the PS3, and though it wasn't a world-beating smash, it garnered a cult following for its beautiful art style, deep gameplay, and thoughtful, morally complex story.
It's set in an alternate-history version of midcentury Europe, following a scrappy military squad who work to defend their country from an invading foreign army. Its lovable characters add to the game's melancholy tone, as you can lose them permanently in battle if you're not careful. The remastered edition includes the original game's DLC, but otherwise, it wisely leaves the core gameplay alone.
12 🍷 Nier Replicant
The saga of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nier Replicant is a strange one. It's one of two versions of the game launched in Japan, but this version never made it outside the country. Instead, we got Nier Gestalt - known as Nier in the West - which featured a different main character and slight differences in the plot. So, Nier Replicant ver.122474487139..., the remaster of Nier Replicant, is either the return of a beloved classic or a brand-new experience, depending on your point of view.
Either way, it's a great opportunity to experience a cult classic. While the sequel, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nier: Automata, would refine many of Replicant's ideas into a more streamlined form, the original packs an experimental punch and a unique atmosphere only enhanced by its rough edges.
11 Xenoblade Chronic🅘les 𒉰
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xenoblade Chronicles was never supposed to be launched in the West. The Wii-exclusive RPG, a spiritual successor to Tetsuya Takahashi's classics Xenogears and Xenosaga, only received a worldwide audience due to a coordinated effort by impassioned fans. And it's a good thing, too, because Xenoblade Chronicles is a modern classic.
The game combines an old-school JRPG sensibility — a grand adventure, a gorgeous soundtrack, and a motley group of heroes who learn the importance of trust and friendship over a journey that spans dozens of hours — with world design and combat inspired by MMOs. However, its massive world suffered from being stuck on the severely underpowered Wii. Fortunately, the Definitive Edition for the Switch brin🌱gs the game into the HD present.
10 Dragon Quest 3: The S♌eeds Of Salvation
There's a longstanding myth that the Japanese government requires new games in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Quest series to launch on weekends to keep students from skipping school. While there's no such law, you can see where the idea came from; when Dragon Quest 3 hit the shelves, hundreds of students were arrested for playing hooky to buy the game.
This gives you an idea of just how good this classic RPG is. It introduced a day/night cycle and an unprecedented level of open-world freedom to the venerable series, and its epic scale set the template for the genre going forward. It's getting a remake in the style of Square's HD-2D RPGs, but in the meantime, you can enjoy a modern remaster that preserves the game's top-down charm.
9 Grandia
The original Grandia had the odds stacked against it: Originally launched as an exclusive for Sega's ill-fated Saturn, it was a JRPG developed by Game Arts in a time when Square dominated the genre, and its combination of 2D sprites and 3D environments seemed less impressive when pretty much every game was going for a fully 3D look. However, it overcame all those hurdles because it's just that good.
The battle system combines turn-based and real-time mechanics to create a unique and incredibly fun hybrid. While its lighthearted, adventurous tone stands out among a procession of self-serious RPGs. An HD remaster for PC and the Switch launched in 2019, so you might say it's a... grand time to get into this classic.
