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#5
Tsugunai: Atonement (PS2)
Tsugunai is a
game that screams, "I am a traditional RPG" and follows every convention
that early 90's RPGs have. I cannot recommend Tsugunai to people just
starting out in the role-playing genre. If you're looking for that on
this list, you can buy Persona 5 which is a great introduction to the
genre. The main reason I put this game on my list is because Tsugunai
has a very specific storyline that is not seen in other RPGs. This game
will throw you into a story where the main character is now a ghost and
needs to recover his body, in which the only way to do so is to repair
sadness in other character's hearts. Meaning you get to possess people
as a ghost and complete their storylines in order to restore yourself.
I really want to see Atlus do a remake of this game with modern RPG aspects or a sequel that uncovers more about the sub-plot of the Battle of Good and Evil, which never gets fully resolved in Tsugunai Atonement.
After Tsugunai Atonement, the developer for this game, Cattle Call, started work on Arc The Lad 4: Twilight Of The Spirits which is a great successor to Arc The Lad 3. The only issue is that Cattle Call went under after they made the OTHER Arc The Lad game after 4 was made. The OTHER Arc The Lad game should be forgotten about and lost to time because it was really bad and development was obviously rushed.
I really want to see Atlus do a remake of this game with modern RPG aspects or a sequel that uncovers more about the sub-plot of the Battle of Good and Evil, which never gets fully resolved in Tsugunai Atonement.
After Tsugunai Atonement, the developer for this game, Cattle Call, started work on Arc The Lad 4: Twilight Of The Spirits which is a great successor to Arc The Lad 3. The only issue is that Cattle Call went under after they made the OTHER Arc The Lad game after 4 was made. The OTHER Arc The Lad game should be forgotten about and lost to time because it was really bad and development was obviously rushed.
#4
Tales Of Destiny: Directors Cut (PS2)
This
is a Japanese-Only remake of the original PS1 version of Tales Of
Destiny. It has modern RPG mechanics, which means it is a huge shame
that this version of the game is only in Japanese. There are fan
translations online you can get for this game, but those translations
require you to softmod your PS2.
If you can get that to work, this game is BY FAR the best Tales game that Namco (Bandai) has ever made. Yes, in my opinion ToD DC is even better than Tales Of The Abyss, which is the most popular game in the franchise as I write this.
If you can get that to work, this game is BY FAR the best Tales game that Namco (Bandai) has ever made. Yes, in my opinion ToD DC is even better than Tales Of The Abyss, which is the most popular game in the franchise as I write this.
One caveat to this opinion is because DC is so much better than ToD on the PlayStation 1, it's not easy to play the original game if you play this version, so I recommend either skipping the PS1 version or waiting until you finish Director's Cut.
The reason I praise Director's Cut so much is because it has new character customization, weapon/armor customization through Lenses, a healing system that makes "food" in the game make sense, lovable characters that you really just want to hang out with outside of the game, and the plot line flows really well.
Other games in the Tales franchise have issues with the food system, pacing issues in the story line, characters that aren't as likable as they should be, and other miserable things. The Director's Cut version of Destiny literally has everything that makes a strong, and well-made Tales game and future Tales game should copy its success.
Other games in the Tales franchise have issues with the food system, pacing issues in the story line, characters that aren't as likable as they should be, and other miserable things. The Director's Cut version of Destiny literally has everything that makes a strong, and well-made Tales game and future Tales game should copy its success.
#3
Parasite Eve 1 and 2 (PS1)
Parasite Eve is higher on this list than Tales Of Destiny because of Parasite Eve 2. However, it is not possible to understand the second game without completing the first, which is the only reason the two games are tied up equally in 3rd Place.
Why play these old PlayStation 1 games in 2025?
Because Parasite Eve 2 is a genuinely scary game.
Because Parasite Eve 2 is a genuinely scary game.
Yes, I know Parasite Eve 1 is a genuine RPG, and PE2 is more of a 3rd Person Shooter with RPG elements. Once you understand the story of PE1, it starts to make complete sense why the developers went with a different genre in the sequel.
Parasite Eve 1 is one of those RPG games that is difficult by design but the story and music by Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura makes up for it. As well as the BEAUTIFUL current Pasadena CA church singer they hired named Judith Siirla Paskowitz. Yes, PE2 uses composers that later worked on Final Fantasy 13-3: Lightning Returns, so yes the music is less tolerable for fans in the sequel.
BUT Parasite Eve 2 makes up for that with the tense and scary moments that completely rival scenes like that of Resident Evil's "Licker scene" when you first encounter Lickers on your first playthrough.
BUT Parasite Eve 2 makes up for that with the tense and scary moments that completely rival scenes like that of Resident Evil's "Licker scene" when you first encounter Lickers on your first playthrough.
Parasite Eve 1 and 2 require complete remakes in 2025 and I hope Squaresoft (Square Enix) can finally do something about these beautiful games and MAYBE hire Judith to reprise her roles?
#2
Shin Megami Tensei 4 (3DS)
Ah here we go, time to talk about a BIG BOY game. A franchise that separates "filthy casuals" from "hardcore gamers" lol
Okay I'm joking, but there is truth to that. Atlus (Atlus Sega)'s franchise Shin Megami Tensei is the father series of all current RPGs. It predates almost every single RPG you can think about (including Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior/Quest, and Pokemon) and SMT is one of the main reasons RPGs became a staple in the West.
SMT is the franchise that spawned Persona and is in the same franchise as Persona, with very obvious references that Persona makes about SMT when you play Persona. The most popular example being Jack Frost, which is Atlus Sega's mascot. Jack Frost is usually a MAJOR character in both Persona and SMT.
Okay I'm joking, but there is truth to that. Atlus (Atlus Sega)'s franchise Shin Megami Tensei is the father series of all current RPGs. It predates almost every single RPG you can think about (including Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior/Quest, and Pokemon) and SMT is one of the main reasons RPGs became a staple in the West.
SMT is the franchise that spawned Persona and is in the same franchise as Persona, with very obvious references that Persona makes about SMT when you play Persona. The most popular example being Jack Frost, which is Atlus Sega's mascot. Jack Frost is usually a MAJOR character in both Persona and SMT.
What makes SMT 4 stand out from other games in the franchise and RPGs as a whole is... well everything about it. Including the difficult tutorial that kills every player ever and makes you stop playing only to actually get easier as a game after the tutorial ends XD
It's not easy to talk about this game without spoiling all the surprises and that's because it was done on purpose. This is because the main point of SMT 4 is to ABSOLUTELY DESTROY every single gaming convention in the genre, much like how Earthbound (Mother 2) did 19 years before SMT 4 came out.
SMT 4 is also the black sheep in the franchise for numerous reasons, such as different artists working on the game, 2D sprites instead of fully 3D models we saw in the 3rd game, and the "rite of passage story" that isn't usually how SMT games progress.
SMT has the best soundtrack in the entire mainline numbered SMT franchise and it's the main draw to people's curiosity for the game.
If you feel you can get through the tutorial and you also love the game's soundtrack at the same time, you MUST play Shin Megami Tensei 4 in 2025.
It's not easy to talk about this game without spoiling all the surprises and that's because it was done on purpose. This is because the main point of SMT 4 is to ABSOLUTELY DESTROY every single gaming convention in the genre, much like how Earthbound (Mother 2) did 19 years before SMT 4 came out.
SMT 4 is also the black sheep in the franchise for numerous reasons, such as different artists working on the game, 2D sprites instead of fully 3D models we saw in the 3rd game, and the "rite of passage story" that isn't usually how SMT games progress.
SMT has the best soundtrack in the entire mainline numbered SMT franchise and it's the main draw to people's curiosity for the game.
If you feel you can get through the tutorial and you also love the game's soundtrack at the same time, you MUST play Shin Megami Tensei 4 in 2025.
#1
Chrono Trigger (Steam)
Usually I would tell people to play the original versions of a game, like playing this game on the SNES.
Not this time.
Chrono Trigger on Steam brings back the extra content that leads into Chrono Cross as a sequel (also available on Steam). And you can also use Steam's Cloud save feature to carry the same file anywhere on multiple devices too.
For all intents and purposes, I consider the Steam release as a "remaster" of the original SNES game and that's coming from a guy who has beaten the original SNES version of this game.
Trigger was one of the games that Akira Toriyama, of Dragon Ball Z fame, worked on so playing this game in 2025 could be seen as a tribute to his death. RIP Toriyama-san, we all miss him.
Ontop of Akria's artistry, the game had people work on it from some of the other games on this list. Trigger, in its development, was known as the "Dream Team" version of the apex of all RPG games that have ever existed and it's true. Which is the main reason you see this game at the top of lists like this all the time.
Trigger was the very first ever game that introduced New Game Plus as a concept that we know as today, so if you are currently doing a New Game Plus run of any video game ever, you have Chrono Trigger to thank for that. This was because the SNES version of Trigger had 14 endings with minor alterations depending on how you played the game.
You can also fight the final boss from the beginning of the game, which is how New Game Plus is expected to actually be used by the developers. The Steam version of Trigger adds even more endings and a secret storyline that leads up to Chrono Cross's introduction which was in the Nintendo DS re-release of the game originally.
Why play Chrono Trigger in 2025?
Chrono Trigger is the shortest game on this list and you can beat it 2-3 times in the same amount of time you can finish these other games.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
These will be RPG games you should also play in 2025 if you dare:
- Dark Souls Remastered (Steam) - because it still supports online features and hundreds of people are still playing this game online at this very moment. If you don't believe me, you can get as far as the Undead Parish in the game and hear church bells. Everytime those bells strike, that's a real actual human player that has done the first major plot point in the game. Praise the sun!
- Grandia 2 HD Remastered (Steam) - because it has the one of the best storylines in RPG gaming and because Grandia 2 is also available on Nintendo Switch! Also the music is amazing!
- Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 Remix (Steam) - Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix is included in this set of FOUR playable games. The second game is a MUST PLAY in the franchise even if you are disinterested in Kingdom Hearts as a whole since the second game has the best combat system in the entire franchise. Also Birth By Sleep Final Mix is included which is a highly addictive game and borrows premises from KH2. If you want to save money and have a PS4, I suggest the "Story So Far" set which includes games from "KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue".
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