25 Top RPGs of the Last Five Years
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
no Tales or Ni No Kuni featured? Tales of Xillia and Ni No Kuni are way better than Skyrim and that isn't even an opinion, that is fact.
I really do hope the newest Critical Miss is in response to this because wow this is a terrible list. I don't need to state again why Fallout:New Vegas being at the bottom while Skyrim is at the top is stupid but I will anyway because it's stupid.
I've poured over 300 hours into Skyrim on a single character with 250+ mods making the game so much better than it could ever be vanilla. I love me some Skyrim. It's a damn fun game when I'm exploring and silently taking out enemies with archery.
Is Skyrim the best RPG in the last five years? Hell no.
Like some other posters have said, 'RPG' is a strange genre to quantify. Fire Emblem is not an RPG to me; it's a strategy game. There's not a lot of 'role playing' going on there. A fun game, but not an RPG. Why not SMT IV instead (or Ni No Kuni)? Monster Hunter isn't really an RPG series to me, either.
I actually do like most of the games on the list. I just disagree with their placement or question their label as 'RPG'. Still, I would have kicked Amalur and DA2 off the list. DA2 was a rushed mess of a game and blah blah blah I won't be able to say anything here that hasn't been said a thousand times before. I wanted to like Kingdoms of Amalur. I enjoyed the art and the combat. But I'm usually a completionist in games, and in trying to do that in Amalur, I never managed to get out of the first area because the quests. Just. Kept. Coming. It was exhausting.
I also wouldn't have included Bastion. I could never get into that game despite trying to on several occasions because it was supposed to be a great game. Everything about it bored me to tears, even though individually the parts that make up the game are things I love.
And just to add my two cents for the Mass Effect games: I love the trilogy. Having your choices carry over across three games was pretty amazing by itself. I love each game individually (even though the ending of ME3 is one of the most careless conclusions I've ever seen in a series), but overall I was disappointed by the narrative. But going into all that would be getting way off topic, and this post is long enough.
Despite all my thoughts and disagreements, I don't begrudge this list. My opinion isn't any more valid than another person's, and the entire point of these lists is to create fun arguments. That's one of the great aspects of fandom. I enjoy seeing what people enjoy compared to what I enjoy.
Is Skyrim the best RPG in the last five years? Hell no.
Like some other posters have said, 'RPG' is a strange genre to quantify. Fire Emblem is not an RPG to me; it's a strategy game. There's not a lot of 'role playing' going on there. A fun game, but not an RPG. Why not SMT IV instead (or Ni No Kuni)? Monster Hunter isn't really an RPG series to me, either.
I actually do like most of the games on the list. I just disagree with their placement or question their label as 'RPG'. Still, I would have kicked Amalur and DA2 off the list. DA2 was a rushed mess of a game and blah blah blah I won't be able to say anything here that hasn't been said a thousand times before. I wanted to like Kingdoms of Amalur. I enjoyed the art and the combat. But I'm usually a completionist in games, and in trying to do that in Amalur, I never managed to get out of the first area because the quests. Just. Kept. Coming. It was exhausting.
I also wouldn't have included Bastion. I could never get into that game despite trying to on several occasions because it was supposed to be a great game. Everything about it bored me to tears, even though individually the parts that make up the game are things I love.
And just to add my two cents for the Mass Effect games: I love the trilogy. Having your choices carry over across three games was pretty amazing by itself. I love each game individually (even though the ending of ME3 is one of the most careless conclusions I've ever seen in a series), but overall I was disappointed by the narrative. But going into all that would be getting way off topic, and this post is long enough.
Despite all my thoughts and disagreements, I don't begrudge this list. My opinion isn't any more valid than another person's, and the entire point of these lists is to create fun arguments. That's one of the great aspects of fandom. I enjoy seeing what people enjoy compared to what I enjoy.
^This. Fucking Dragon Age 2 and Kingdoms of Amalur made the list, but Alpha Protocol, FFXII and Nier didn't make the cut? Seriously? And Shadowrun Returns doesn't really belong on there, but I'd at least grant if you insisted, it's still too high. It was a geniune disappointment for me in every way, and I was most annoyed of all by it's severely lacking toolkit which requires me to buy DLC to fix. Screw that noise.Andy Shandy said:
Either way, all three of the games I mentioned belong. Alpha Protocol was outstanding despite it's bugs. FFXII tried something new, and while some people hated it for it, it's still a far more cohessive and intesting game than Shadowrun or DA2. And Nier is an outstanding story and character study.
I think it's kind of misnomer to call Skyrim a great RPG. From a mechanical perspective, Skyrim's leveling system is really bare bones, and the Dragonborn never gets the opportunity to characterize themselves.
Compared to the truly elite RPG's, (KOTOR II, DA: Origins, Mass Effect 3, Persona 4, IMHO) Skyrim doesn't have a lot of, well, role playing.
But none of that matters because Skyrim does something else better than almost any game I've played; it offers a sense of discovery. You become invested in Skyrim's setting and characters not because it has a fantastic story or deep gameplay, but because Skyrim makes you feel like the adventure you go on is truly your own. This works because there is nary an inch of Skyrim that doesn't demand exploration and examination, you always have something to do, and what you do is almost entirely up to you.
Because you can wander Skyrim so free of distraction or breaks in immersion, because the game almost never throws up invisible walls, it becomes more than the sum of it's parts; you start to feel like you could actually live there.
Bethesda are not much for stories or complex game mechanics, but they are masters of setting; Skyrim is not much of an RPG, but it's one hell of an open world game.
We've come to define an "RPG" as a game where you have a level and you get stronger, but like many of our genres, this idea misses the point, because it doesn't express the underlying appeal of Role Playing.
World of Warcraft and Planescape: Torment are both "Role Playing Games", but the sources of their appeal could not be more different; most of our genres are arbitrary distinctions.
Maybe I'll dream up some more fitting names one of these days.
Compared to the truly elite RPG's, (KOTOR II, DA: Origins, Mass Effect 3, Persona 4, IMHO) Skyrim doesn't have a lot of, well, role playing.
But none of that matters because Skyrim does something else better than almost any game I've played; it offers a sense of discovery. You become invested in Skyrim's setting and characters not because it has a fantastic story or deep gameplay, but because Skyrim makes you feel like the adventure you go on is truly your own. This works because there is nary an inch of Skyrim that doesn't demand exploration and examination, you always have something to do, and what you do is almost entirely up to you.
Because you can wander Skyrim so free of distraction or breaks in immersion, because the game almost never throws up invisible walls, it becomes more than the sum of it's parts; you start to feel like you could actually live there.
Bethesda are not much for stories or complex game mechanics, but they are masters of setting; Skyrim is not much of an RPG, but it's one hell of an open world game.
We've come to define an "RPG" as a game where you have a level and you get stronger, but like many of our genres, this idea misses the point, because it doesn't express the underlying appeal of Role Playing.
World of Warcraft and Planescape: Torment are both "Role Playing Games", but the sources of their appeal could not be more different; most of our genres are arbitrary distinctions.
Maybe I'll dream up some more fitting names one of these days.
Can't really agree with Skyrim being at the top.
It's a decent game, but I prefer most of the other RPG's I played.
Happy to see New Vegas on the list at least. Shame it didn't rank that high.
Edit: I'd also talk about how Valkyria Chronicles isn't on the list, but that game is at least 6 years old now. (Wow already? I feel kinda nostalgic about it now)
It's a decent game, but I prefer most of the other RPG's I played.
Happy to see New Vegas on the list at least. Shame it didn't rank that high.
Edit: I'd also talk about how Valkyria Chronicles isn't on the list, but that game is at least 6 years old now. (Wow already? I feel kinda nostalgic about it now)
Skyrim takes the number one spot? Skyrim.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ErIHFtEZHhA/UB5ojUXSNaI/AAAAAAAACGU/eA0wS0AhEyA/s1600/crying-indian.gif
SKYRIM?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ErIHFtEZHhA/UB5ojUXSNaI/AAAAAAAACGU/eA0wS0AhEyA/s1600/crying-indian.gif
SKYRIM?