Final Fantasy XV took around 10 years to make. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took around 6 years to make. Both The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 took around three-four years to develop. It's a well-known fact that RPGs take a long time to make, and that's understandable considering their complex narratives, large worlds, and innovative gameplay. However, there have been some amazing RPGs to come out that have been developed in even less than two years.
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RPGs are known for being lengthy titles that take days and days to complete, but these fairly brief games can be finished during a single weekend.
In fact, some of the very best RPGs to have graced player's screens have actually had quite short development cycles, ranging from anywhere between a year to just over 2 years. It truly goes to show the amount of hard work and dedication that some studios and developers pour into their games. Any form of video game development is a long and complicated procedure, so it's all the more impressive when critically acclaimed titles are released after only being worked on for a couple of years — especially in the RPG genre! This list will consider games with development times less than 3 years that resulted in incredible RPGs, ranking them by their narrative, gameplay, and mechanical qualities.
8 Dragon Quest 2: Luminaries Of The Legendary Line (1987)
Development Time: 9 Months
Dragon Quest 2 (dupe)
- Released
- January 28, 1987
- Developer(s)
- Enix, Armor Games Studios
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
- Development Started: April 1986
- Game Released: January 26, 1987
Development on the second Dragon Quest title began in April 1986, which was a month before the original game even came out. There were actually plans to release the follow-up later in the same year, but after a few delays, Dragon Quest 2: Luminaries of the Legendary Line arrived in January 1987 — only 9 months after development started.
Of course, games were slightly more limited in their scope back in 1986-1987, but it's still an impressive feat to release a whole new RPG in a matter of months. This sequel introduced the innovative mechanic of controlling more than one character, making it one of the first RPGs to do so. There were also new weapons, spells, and attacks, as well as the introduction of the ship, which made the world more explorable and open. The second Dragon Quest game was released to critical acclaim and is still a gem of a title to revisit today, albeit somewhat challenging.
7 Final Fantasy 2 (1988)
Development Time: Less Than One Year
Final Fantasy II
- Released
- December 17, 1988
- Developer(s)
- Square
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Entertainment System, Android, iOS, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, PC, PS1, PS4, PSP, WonderSwan
- Development Started: Early 1988
- Game Released: December 17, 1988
After the first Final Fantasy released on the December 18, 1987, development began nearly straight away on a follow-up title. There weren't any direct ideas for a sequel at first, but strong sales from the first title inspired the team to get started on Final Fantasy 2 within a matter of weeks. Ultimately, Final Fantasy 2's development was completed in less than a year, releasing to unanimous acclaim once again.
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The sequel featured none of the same characters from the preceding title and placed the franchise in a new direction with a greater focus on narrative. A new leveling system was also created where characters gained XP based on their skill usage — in an attempt to make the leveling feel more realistic. The narrative was so well-regarded that it actually featured an official novelization in Japan!
6 Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle (2002)
Development Time: Around 18 Months
Dark Cloud 2
- Development Started: Mid-2001
- Game Released: November 28, 2002
Dark Cloud 2, otherwise known as Dark Chronicle, was officially announced in May 2002 and released in Japan in November of that same year. It was made in around 18 months, releasing to unanimously positive reviews. The sequel's invention system offered a new way to experience exclusive gameplay, and players could spend hundreds of hours on this mode alone.
The biggest change from its predecessor was the introduction of cel-shaded visuals, which gave Dark Cloud 2 a more distinct, dreamlike feel. Level 5 also greatly worked on smoothing the transition between gameplay and passive story events, creating a more immersive experience. Ultimately, this sequel was a great success and proved that Level 5 was highly capable of delivering a great RPG with a short development time.
5 Undertale (2015)
Development Time: 32 Months
Undertale
- Development Started: Early 2013
- Game Released: September 15, 2015
Most gamers know the success story of Undertale by now, but if not, then players should absolutely seek out this incredible title before reading anything about it — it works the best when going in completely blind. What makes this entry the most impressive though is the fact that it was made almost entirely by a single developer, Toby Fox.
Sure, 32 months might seem a little longer than other entries on this list, but most other games are developed by full teams or AAA studios. This was a breakout indie RPG that shook the industry with its innovative story, mechanics, and gameplay. Players loved it, critics loved it, and it blew everyone's mind when the development time was revealed. Undertale will always be a fantastic success story and a masterpiece of a game.
4 Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords (2004)
Development Time: 14 Months
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords
- Released
- December 6, 2004
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment, Aspyr
- Development Started: October 2003
- Game Released: December 6, 2004
Players were somewhat skeptical when development of the Knights of the Old Republic sequel got handed over to Obsidian instead of Bioware. However, their worries ultimately proved unjustified, as Knights of the Old Republic 2 was released to critical acclaim, even if it wasn't quite as good as its predecessor.
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Still, Obsidian did a great job in faithfully continuing the franchise, adding a valuable entry that Star Wars fans continue to return to. What's even more impressive is that they achieved this feat in just over a single year. This game is not small, and it is filled with so many branching pathways and storylines. Players know these types of games are complex and expect development to take far longer. This makes Obsidian's achievement here truly stand out.
3 Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
Development Time: Around 18 Months
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Development Started: Early 2009
- Game Released: October 19, 2010
The idea behind Fallout: New Vegas had been brewing for a long time, and at some points was even supposed to come out before Fallout 3. However, things never quite took off and eventually, Fallout 3 was released as we know it today, and Fallout: New Vegas now only exists because of Fallout 3's success. This was the first Fallout title developed by Obsidian Entertainment, who are now synonymous with the franchise.
Las Vegas was, of course, the major inspiration fueling the game, filled with layers of greed, lavishness, and excessive displays, and from there, the development steamrolled forward and was completed in 18 months. The Fallout franchise is well known for its large worlds, branching paths, and deep RPG mechanics, so such a short development time was a serious feat. To this day, Fallout: New Vegas remains a fan-favorite entry in the franchise. Not bad for 18 months' work!
2 Chrono Trigger (1995)
Development Time: Just Over 2 Years
Chrono Trigger
- Released
- March 11, 1995
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Platform(s)
- SNES, PlayStation (Original), PC, Nintendo DS, Android, iOS
- Development Started: Late 1992
- Game Released: March 11, 1995
At the time of release, Chrono Trigger was one of the longest, most intricate, and most detailed RPGs to exist. Even now, it's often heralded as one of the best games ever made, and that's for very good reason. What makes this particularly amazing is the fact that this masterpiece of an RPG was developed in just over 2 years. Of course, RPGs were not quite as difficult to make in the early 1990s, but that's not to say they were easy.
Chrono Trigger was actually pitched as Final Fantasy meets Dragon Quest, as it included two of the creators from the main RPG franchises at the time. Square Enix dubbed them, alongside Akira Toriyama (that's right — the creator of Dragon Ball) the "Dream Team." Let's just say the dream team worked wonders because Chrono Trigger remains an absolute masterpiece and will go down in history as one of the best RPGs ever made, only boosted by the fact it was made in such a short amount of time.
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