Summary
- RPGs need to strike a balance between tutorials and gameplay to not frustrate players - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night got it right.
- Diablo 4 adds more story without long cutscenes, maintaining engaging gameplay for Diablo fans.
- Elden Ring offers community-based RPG experience with freedom, taking inspiration from the Soulslike genre.
There’s a fine balance to RPGs that can be hard to nail. For example, nobody wants to go out, buy a new game, get home, and then spend two hours going through tutorials or story-based content. Sometimes, RPGs will not let up on players and constantly berate them to make sure they learn everything, or will remind them when they turn the system back on.
On the other hand, it would be bad to start a game and almost have no explanation unless the developer did it in a way that made sense. Fortunately, the following RPGs managed to strike that balance, and they’re still fun to play because of this. They don't frustrate gamers with hard-to-understand gameplay, but they don't hold the player's hand either.
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8 Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Taming A New Genre
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Released
- October 2, 1997
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- Genre(s)
- Metroidvania, Action RPG
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was the first game in the series to follow the Super Metroid formula of traversal instead of having stage-based progression. There was one interconnected map, and players could bypass doors or reach ledges with new powers or items gained from the story.
What Castlevania: Symphony of the Night added to the Super Metroid basis were RPG mechanics, including leveling up and equipment from weapons to armor. All the Metroidvania entries in the Castlevania series turn players free almost from the get-go, but this first entry deserves all the praise that still holds up as a PS1 classic.
7 Diablo 4
Demon Days
Diablo 4
- Released
- June 5, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
Diablo 4 added more story than ever before, with the ever-looming presence of Lilith terrorizing towns around the world. Even though there are more story breaks, the game doesn’t stop for thirty-minute cutscenes or overly long explanations of tutorials.
Blizzard probably figured that Diablo fans know what they are doing at this point. Pick a class, fight some monsters, level up, pick skills, and so on. The only detractor from the experience is that Diablo 4 holds the horse back far too much, making on-foot travel a pain at times, but that’s a small note in an otherwise freeing action RPG.
6 Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake
If You Need A Vocation
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
- Released
- November 14, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Dragon Quest 3 was the first game in the series to introduce a class system, known as Vocations. This was still in the NES days when narratives were short, and even in this modern remake, the story remains in the background as a contextual way to motivate players forward.
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Almost right away, players can create a group of three characters to aid the Hero on their quest. Some Vocation examples in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake include a Mage, Martial Artist, Merchant, and so on. It’s the perfect turn-based RPG that invokes both classic and modern gameplay themes.
5 Elden Ring
A Community-Based RPG
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Soulslike games are the ultimate RPG experiences that don’t want to hold the player’s hand. They almost spit it on the player’s hand, kick them, and then metaphorically say, “Do it yourself.” Without a thriving community, the Soulslike genre would not have blossomed after Demon’s Souls, but because there is that community, players can take it upon themselves to discover new things or to ask around.
Elden Ring is the most freeing example of this. It was FromSoftware’s biggest game to date, with tons to do and see, from looting chests to taking on bosses. Plus, that sense of community was strengthened with the multiplayer.
4 Final Fantasy Adventure
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls
Final Fantasy Adventure
- Released
- June 8, 1991
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Final Fantasy Adventure is technically not a Final Fantasy game, but upon its Game Boy debut, it was marketed in North America as such. This is the first Mana game starring a young knight named Sumo, who was a slave for gladiatorial battles until being chucked off a waterfall. Even though there have been two remakes, this Game Boy original is still fantastic and can be played via Collection of Mana on the Switch or Switch 2. It’s an easy-to-understand interconnected Zelda-like world, and it has a full RPG leveling up systems and allies.
3 Final Fantasy Tactics
Go Onto The Grid
Final Fantasy Tactics
- Released
- June 20, 1997
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Mild Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, RPG
Final Fantasy Tactics is a fully-fledged Final Fantasy game. It's the first tactical entry in the series, along with the first one set in Ivalice. It’s also one of the hardest games in the series, because it doesn’t hold the player's hand and because the enemies found in random encounters level scale with the player.
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Players will be quickly introduced to the grid-based battle system. From there, they will have to figure out the rest, including the Job system, on their own. Thankfully, it’s not that obtuse of an experience.
2 The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North
Delisted But Not Forgotten
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
- Released
- November 1, 2011
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is one of the best video game adaptations of the classic fantasy series, taking place concurrently with the novels. While Frodo, Aragon, Gandalf, and the rest are having their adventures, players can assume the role of a human ranger, a dwarven fighter, or an elvish mage.
The game supported three-player co-op and was best experienced in this way, although it was not necessary to complete the campaign. Each dungeon was almost episodic in nature, giving players plenty to do without bogging them down with endless action mechanics. It’s a shame this game has been delisted on so many platforms now.
1 Pokemon Legends: Arceus
The Most Freeing Game Since The Game Boy
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
- Released
- January 28, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Pokemon Legends: Arceus did what the mainline Pokemon games couldn’t for decades. It re-centered the plot on the past, gave players just one town to act as a central hub, and then gave them the keys to the kingdom. There is a story, but it's not an intrusive one, and players aren’t going around collecting badges. Instead, they can explore and catch Pokemon to their heart’s content without sifting through tons of tutorial menus or stopping in-between towns on the adventure.
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