The death of the single-player game has been greatly exaggerated. But that doesn't mean that single-player games can't grow beyond what they currently are. We don't have to look back further than the 2000s to witness a time when some RPG developers pushed a little further than others — stretching (if not outright breaking) the mold — and made games that refused to just be normal.
In the 2000s, we got role-playing games that were unique and 🐈took risks. But the stra🥀ngeness of these outings was part of what made them so special. Without those risks, the gaming industry would be much duller than it is today.
This article contains spoilers for Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.
10 The World Ends With You, 2007 🌸 🧸
Launching for the Nintendo DS in 2007, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The World Ends with You was (and remains) one of the best games on the console. An RPG boasting bundles of style in its memorable soundtrack and visuals, the game follows Neku and his allies as they compete in a life and death event known as the Reapers' game. If the word Reaper didn't already set off alarm bells for you, the foes of this game surely will.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The World Ends with You🎃 is set in Shibuya and spans three weeks, during which the characters must complete tasks assigned to them. No matter the simplicity of these tasks, most days end with a boss against a monstrous supernatural being. Plus, the style on display sets this game apart from any game that was around at the time or any RPG that has launched𝕴 since.
9 🗹 Dark Cloud, 2000 ❀
Often called "Sony's answer to Zelda," Dark Cloud is an action-adventure RPG where after the release of a dark genie, a young boy named Toan must gather and repair parts of a sphere to rebuild the world. Characters of the game include Xiao, a cat that transformed into a girl, and Ruby, a genie that allies with Toan to defeat the dark genie.
The gameplay plays as part dungeon crawler, part world creation simulator, where you must traverse cave floors, fight baddies and help to rebuild the towns caught in the destruction. And all of this must be done while keeping your weapons up to scratch as they degrade over time. Nothing ever makes total sense in Dark Cloud, and by the time those credits get rolling, you're likely to have more questions than answers.
8 Marvel Ultimate Alliance, 2006♕
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Marvel Ultimate Alliance's roster of characters contains landmark Marvel names like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Spider-Man, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Wolverine, Daredevil, Blade, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Moon Knight, and Storm, to name a few. The 2006 action RPG follows characters of the Marvel universe as they team up to defeat Doctor Doom.
Most Marvel comics have some claim to 'strangeness' because of how mystical the characters' adventures usually are. Even tamer entries like or the have connections to the weirder side of the universe. Marvel Ultimate Alliance melds all these parts them one sprawling adventure with many heroes.
7 🌞 Rogue Galaxy, 2005
There hasn't been another game that captured the essence and hope of the Star Wars universe quite like Rogue Galaxy. Sure, Rogue Galaxy has nothing to do with Star Wars, but 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:it's one hell of a sci-fi adventure.
The game's protagonist, Jaster, lives a simple life until an encounter with a bounty hunter, Desert Claw, where he is gifted his weapon. Pirates then see Jaster and mistake him for Desert Claw, inviting him to join them on their ship. As with any good RPG adventure, shortly after this, Jaster realizes that the fate of the Universe is down to him, causing him 🎶to continue traveling and fighting ﷺalongside his new pirate pals.
6 The Witcher, 2007 ⛦ ⛦
It's not until making your way past the prologue of the first Witcher game that you'll realize how weird the rest of the game will be. Geralt begins the game with amnesia, which follows through into the game's sequel.
In the opening section of The Witcher, Geralt, Triss, and the rest of the Witchers are defending Kaer Morhen from an attack in which a group named the Salamandra steal the mutations which give Witchers their abilities. These mutations are administered to would-be Witchers improving upon their senses and healing capabilities, though in the wrong hands, they're used to mutate humans who Geralt must fight in the final act. The game becomes outright bizarre from here as every new area you explore feels even more enriched with mythology than the last.
5 ✤ Morrowind, 2002 𝔍
Skyrim is often helmed as Bethesda's magnum opus today, but before its success, there were the likes of Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion. While having merits for its random encounters and story, Oblivion doesn't hold a candle to the inherited weirdness that comes with Morrowind. The story incorporates fantasy elements into a story revolving around gods, prophecies, distinct races, and strange beasts.
The most noticeable creature in Morrowind is the Silt Strider, an animal similar to gigantic fleas used by the people of Vvardenfell as transport. Where NPCs in other games🎐 trave🍨l by horse and carriage, the inhabitants of Morrowind get to relax on the back of a Silt Strider.
4 🌳 Kingdom Hearts 2, 2005 🔥
It's a long-running joke that the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Kingdom Hearts franchise is packed with inconsistencies and plot holes that would make even Final Fantasy characters cower in fear. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Kingdom Hearts 2 builds upon all the bizarre elements of the fi𒁃rst game and dials it up to 11. You begin the g☂ame as a young boy named Roxas trying to earn money to hang out with his friends until it abruptly cuts to Sora, the hero of the first game.
The Kingdom Hearts story becomes difficult to follow from here as you travel through various Disney worlds with allies Donald and Goofy, unraveling the connection between Sora and Roxas. Oh, and there are a few 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy characters thrown in there too.
3 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, 2009
Mario is one weird franchise all around, but especially so in the 2009 RPG Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, where Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach, among others, are inhaled by Bowser. Since Mario and their friends are a little tall to fit into Bowser's body, they're also shrunk in the process.
It's inside Bowser's body where Mario and Luigi team up against enemies in combat 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:typical to JRPGs like the Persona series. All characters are r🌳egurgitated by the end of the story, leading to a fight against Bowser, which is show൩n in slideshow form during the credits.
2 ⛦ Shadow Hearts, 2001 🐽
Mostly taking place in the early 1900s, Shadow Hearts follows the story of a young man called Yuri who encounters magic-user and exorcist Alice. Both characters have mystical backgrounds; Yuri can fuse with the souls of demons, bringing their strength into a fight, whereas Alice can use her so-called 'white magic' to heal and resurrect others.
These forces lead to the game's events when Warlock Albert Simon chases the two throughout China and Europe. As it happens, Simon isn't the only main threat as later; he summons a powerful entity appropriately named God. The entire experience is supernatural-themed 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:and takes ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚheavy inspiration from Lovecraft w☂hile alsﷺo not ignoring the realism and brutality of war.
1 Star Ocean: Till The End Of T⛄ime, 2003
A tale spanning the universe and its planets, the third Star Ocean entry puts you in the shoes of Fayt, who crash lands on the planet Vanguard III. From the description, Star Ocean 3 sounds like every universe-dwelling adventure out there, but this isn't your typical game.
Near the end, it's revealed that you are actually in a computer simulation, developed by the Sphere Company and named the Eternal Sphere. So essentially, you're playing an RPG about being a character in an MMO who doesn't realize they're a character in a game. It's layers of meta and fourth-wall-breaking goodness, sure to give you a migraine if you think on the specifics too much.