Go forth brave heroes of light and save the decaying world from the power of the dark lord! This could be the basic plot to hundreds, if not thousands of RPGs out there. Typical cliches in the genre include things like saving the world, dark villains with complex motives to rule/destroy the world, silent protagonists, tropey characters, and so on.
Cliches aren’t always bad, but they do begin to feel stale after saving the world for the nth time. Luckily, some RPGs ditch every cliche that brought the genre into the limelight and into the hearts of gamers altogether. These bold genre-defiant games are remembered for their brilliant story-telling and ambition.
10 Suikoden: It’s Complicated
Suikoden is a cult classic franchise that goes far beyond tropes and cliches. Instead of saving the world, the plots are rooted in history, politics, war, personal relationships, and, well, it is complicated (think Game of Thrones in RPG form).
The entire series takes place in the same world, and there are some constants like runes, fate, and certain characters returning. Beyond that, each game is filled with a unique tale that is only peripherally related to the other entries. Series motifs run the gamut from betrayals and relationships, the consequences of war, and maneuvering politics, etc.
9 Nier: Automata: Seeing Through The Veneer
Nier: Automata is a game that refuses to accept any labels or cliches. Is it an action RPG? Are the robots actually evil? Is 2B the best protagonist ever (a lot of fans seem to think so)? This is a game that really needs to be experienced to be understood.
Under the many veneers that the Nier: Automata plot throws at the player, there are themes like the cost of war, understanding sentience, and ideological conflict.
The story of 2B, 9S, A2, and the war between android and machine is filled with mystery, intrigue, and tears. Nier: Automata has one of the most compelling — and strangest — stories ever told.
8 Earthbound: Speaking Directly To The Player
One look at Earthbound is enough to let players know that this isn’t a typical RPG. Players can use real-life items like credit cards, and it takes place in the modern world. Battle backgrounds look like a hippie’s dream and foes like abstract art, urban zombies, and smelly ghosts roam the land.
Abstract is a good adjective to describe the Earthbound experience. The weirdness factor just keeps going up as you progress. What starts as a fun sci-fi story blossoms into a Kubrick-esque experience. What really makes Earthbound special is how often it breaks the fourth wall and leaves you feeling like you are truly a part of the experience, as if your cooperation is truly required.
7 Chrono Trigger: Together Until The End Of Time
Okay, Lavos destroying the world in itself is a little cliche, but the overarching plot in Chrono Trigger is anything but. In 1996, time travel was still a relatively new idea in video games (and it still hasn’t been bested). Chrono Trigger defied expectations, slam-dunked the time travel idea, and knocked it out of the epoch with the breadth of its storytelling.
Chrono Trigger’s plot involves traveling to many time periods and fixing/changing things to make sure the world does not end. On top of that, there is a running idea of cultural relativism and tolerance. Almost every member of the main cast comes from a radically different time period and faces some sort of identity crisis.
6 Mass Effect: Too Epic For One Planet
Mass Effect has a sprawling story that spans multiple games. Shepard (who can be male or female) is trying to save humanity. Cliche! But wait! In this universe, humanity is new to being a member of the galactic community. It puts them in a rather vulnerable yet unique situation where other alien races don’t yet fully understand them.
The incredible world-building in Mass Effect brings the other alien species and characters to life. Like many of the best RPGs out there, the player’s choices matter, and the Mass effect grants the player a decent level of autonomy over how the story unfolds.
5 Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is one of the most audacious RPGs ever made, revolving around decision-making rather than traditional combat. Players love it because of how bold and complex the story and world are. The plot is just as much a journey through the protagonist’s mind as it is a detective story set in the fictional world of Elysium.
The in-game world is crumbling. It’s full of different political ideologies and the blurring of reality and dreams. Players have full control over the type of person their main character turns out to be as their decisions impact how the world shapes around them.
4 Planescape: Torment
Dungeons and Dragons campaigns can scream “cliche,” but Planescape: Torment is anything but. Players won’t see high fantasy settings or save the world from a mighty dragon in this adventure. The darker setting was a change of pace for a well-established franchise.
Planescape: Torment flips stats on their head. Stats like wisdom and intelligence can add dialogue to the game and allow the main character to conjure more memories, enriching the plot. Planescape cements its place in the greatest RPG of all time realm because of how fleshed out its world and character are. The player can interact with the world and affect the plot, which remains great no matter what they choose.
3 Shadow Hearts: A Dark Reality
The Shadow Hearts series stood out for being edgier and gorier than most other RPGs. It’s also set in the early 20th century, which is a surprisingly unique setting.
The story in Shadow Hearts is bizarre, but it fuses real-world events and places with mystical realms and more fantastical elements. It is amazing to travel around real-life locales in Europe and Asia while exploring otherworldly realms.
It is this fusion of East and West, realism and fantasy, and willingness to break conventions that set Shadow Hearts apart from most other RPGs.
2 Undertale: There Is No Need to Fight
The player is stuck in an underworld and needs to escape. While the overall plot might seem childishly simple, Undertale has more dialogue than RPGs that are five times longer (since Undertale is only 5-10 hours). Undertale’s story shines in the discourse between enemies and NPCs. Their dialogue contains different font sizes, styles, and dialects. It really brings them to life.
Players can also choose not to fight enemies. Instead of just overpowering foes, players can be pacifists and try to spare foes, which can end up with crazy results, like monster relationships and other strange scenarios. Undertale might look a lot like a classic 16-bit RPG, but the gameplay and story won’t seem familiar to even seasoned RPG fanatics.
1 Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow: Don’t Kill Em’ All, Catch Em’ All Instead
While Pokemon games are well established now, the original idea was something truly special. Monster catching was around before Pokemon in games like Dragon Quest V and Shin Megami Tensei, but Game Freak’s franchise took it further and centered an entire game around catching and training these little pocket monsters.
Instead of killing every monster around to save the world, players catch and train Pokemon so they can become Pokemon Masters. The idea was so fascinating that tons of games have been made since the original, but the basic gameplay elements have basically stayed the same.
Pokemon were so captivating in themselves that the overall story played second fiddle to exploring and finding new ones. The license stands alone in how successfully it has been at charming fans with lore, forms, and basically anything related to Pokemon.
