The best RPG's of the last generation

A group article, discussing the very best Role-playing games from the past eight years.

[Bigpappy]

Without reading the article, the answer is Skyrim. If they choose anything else, the site should be closed down

[Yi-Long]

No Dark Souls, no Demons Souls, no Ni No Kuni, no Dragon Quest 9 (DS), etc etc...

List seems kinda missing quite a few big names(!)

[Sly-Lupin]

Sounds like it's missing ALL the big names.

[hellzsupernova]

I am so disappointed I put down ni no kuni, it is very hard to pick it up again and remember the controls etc, absolutely loved everything about that game

[ZodTheRipper]

Demon's Souls > Skyrim

[Why o why]

Valkyria Chronicles

[Evilsnuggle]

Demon's Soul's was my favorite game this gen . Demon's Soul's was the most innovative Game of last gen no game is like it .it has original gameplay and Original game elements. Demon's Soul's and The Last Of Us are the 2 best games of the last gen . P.S loved the Witcher 2 and fallout 3.

[anticlimax]

It's not a list of the best 10 or fifteen, just 5 people chosing their favorite. Nothing wrong with their choices. We can't all enjoy dying as much as the average Dark Souls-lover.

[Sly-Lupin]

Skyrim is a fantastic game, but it's also a terrible RPG.

[jsslifelike]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who stopped playing Skyrim after 10 or so hours because of it's shitty, wooden combat.

[torchic]

jsslifelike

I was on my way to buy Skyrim then stopped at a friend's house who had just bought it and after seeing those absolutely shitty combat mechanics I went back home I wanted nothing to do with that garbage

[anticlimax]

It's not an RPG, it's a tourism simulator.

[HammerKong]

sory my list goes like this
5.xenoblade cronicles
4.dragon age origins
3.fallout series
2.wither series
1.mass effect series
runner ups are skyrim and dark souls.

[Magicite]

Skyrim without mods has low value.

[Sly-Lupin]

I always wonder what mods people are using when they post this. I've got 100+ installed, most of which from the Top 100 on Nexus, and I've gotta say that they don't really make too much of a difference from Vanilla.

Sure, they improve lots of minor aspects of the game, but it's not like they totally revolutionize any of the mechanics.

The mod that changes things the most, I think, is just Interesting NPCs. Nearly everything else is purely cosmetic.

[indoimran]

Bahaha Skyrim is one of the choices indeed!

[NeoTribe]

Ni no kuni won rpg of the year yet fails to make this list....

[InMyOpinion]

It's a list where editors list their personal picks.

[gillri]

Some great choices there, Mass Effect 2 would be mine

[oIITSBIIo]

The Witcher series .

[SabreMan]

Some decent games in the list, Dragon Age Origins was an enjoyable experience, I played Skyrim on my PS3 so it wasn't a good experience to begin with, even after all the updates it just didn't do it for me.
However no Dark Souls or Demon Souls, it may be subjective to the individual but Dark Souls is easily the best rpg of last gen, followed by Demon Souls.

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

Without question for me it was lost Odyssey. Still my favorite RPG and I pray I see another one at some point. Kingdom of alumar was also excellent.

[BlakHavoc]

Ahh, the Lost Odyssey was a great game, all 4 discs of it. I also liked the Last Remnants if anyone remembers that one.

[hellzsupernova]

List is almost completely western. They should've done a best west and best jrpg cause there have been some great ones.

[TheGrimReaper0011]

as much as i enjoy mass effect, is that really an RPG?
I'd pick Skyrim
Played for 800 hours (with mods though)
Still playing it today

[BlakHavoc]

What doesn't make it an RPG? It's a huge open world game, and you do role play for the main character.

[anticlimax]

The fact that it has guns instead of wizards doesn't exclude it from being an rpg.

[TheGrimReaper0011]

no, but i mainly mean because the rpg elements are so baren, i barely count it as an RPG
That doesn't mean i dont like the games
It's not really open world, leveling doesnt do anything, very little loot, no deep custumization
I'll get disagrees for this (this is n4g after all) but all i can be is honest

[anticlimax]

Well there's some customization, some loot and some leveling, but indeed mostly the RPG part exists of making meaningful decisions in-game and building relationships with the companions. There is plenty of that tho, which makes it a proper rpg in my book. (Especially the first entry)

[BlakHavoc]

Sadly the only one of these game I tried was Mass Effect 2, and I loved it! I cannot give a fair decision on what I think is the best rpg considering I have not played most of these, but the Mass Effect series was amazing to me and is a top 5 series IMO from this past gen of gaming. I doubt not playing Skyrim and will be finally getting my hands on a Witcher game, unfortunately it'll be the 3rd installment.

[jocomat9]

Fallout 3 for me baby

[martinezjesus1993]

The game that made me a "fulltime" gamer!! I was big on parties, soccer and going out with friends, Fallout 3 took that away from me, not complaining at all tho xD

[Einhert]

Mass Effect 1, ME2 stripped away RPG elements and 3 did so even further.

Witcher series

Skyrim is up there purely because of its modability plus the setting carries it forward and the story is pretty good and I was blown away by the dragons the first time I seen one.

[AllroundGamer]

Never been so immersed in a game like in Skyrim, numero uno indeed.

[DCfan]

IMO, my fav is Mugen Souls. The game is sooooo deep, i sometimes wonder what im doing.

[Grave]

No Demon's Souls means they have no idea what it is they think they are talking about.

[KillrateOmega]

Skyrim is an obvious choice here. The Elder Scrolls series is one of my favorite series around.

Witcher 2 and Fallout 3 are other obvious choices.

How are Demon's Souls and Dark Souls not on here though?

[SegaGamer]

Skyrim is overrated in my opinion. Its a glitchy mess of a game if ever i saw one. Clunky and grey all over, a colourless game is horrible to look at.

Eternal Sonata and Lost Odyssey should make the list.

[indoimran]

It's more of a personal list rather than a definitive “Best Ever”

[mook1022]

Very sorry to see Demons Souls and Dark Souls not on the list...by far the best, and most challenging RPG's I have played in a very long time.

[Relientk77]

Ni no Kuni
Tales of Graces f

[Master-H]

How can you not mention the Souls series ??

[MetalNCarnet]

My top 5 list for this gen (no order):

- Lost Odyssey
- Skyrim
- Valkyria Chronicles
- Fallout 3
- Mass Effect Trilogy

Honorable mentions: Blue Dragon, Dragon Age Origins, Tales Of Vesperia, Ni No Kuni, and Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion

[Rock_On_PS4]

Why are: Red Dead: Redemption, GTA IV and V not classed as RPGs? They are open world free roaming and you can practically do as you please when you are not in quest/mission mode.

Lost Odyssey was a stinker of a game for me I could not get into it, it was a very hard game that took too long to move onto the next screen. I hated Lost Odyssey more than I disliked Final Fantasy XIII.

Mass Effect 1 and 2 were great games, Mass Effect 3 let the series down.

Oblivion for me was a better game than Skyrim. Skyrim using the same graphics engine as Oblivion looked dated. Oblivion setting and quests were more interesting.

[anticlimax]

Because you don't develop your character enough. Openworld-free roaming doesn't make an rpg. Customizing your character both in stats as in game decisions is what makes it an rpg.

RPG=choices