Game Informer's Top 100 RPGs (Oh, wow...)

I'm not an avid fan of RPGs, but even I know that this list is bullshit. So I'd thought I'd share it with you guys for shits and giggles.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. Chrono Trigger
4. Mass Effect 2
5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
6. World of Warcraft
7. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
8. Diablo II
9. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
10. Final Fantasy Tactics
11. Bloodborne
12. Fallout 3
13. Planescape: Torment
14. Deus Ex
15. Pokémon Red & Blue
16. Secret of Mana
17. Ultima Online
18. Final Fantasy VII
19. Persona 5
20. Diablo
21. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
22. EverQuest
23. Final Fantasy IV
24. Dark Souls
25. Kingdom Hearts II
26. Dragon Age: Origins
27. EarthBound
28. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
29. Suikoden II
30. Persona 4
31. Ultima VII: The Black Gate
32. Valkyrie Profile
33. Final Fantasy
34. Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
35. Final Fantasy X
36. Fallout: New Vegas
37. Diablo III
38. System Shock 2
39. Fallout
40. Neverwinter Nights
41. Xenosaga: Episode I - Der Wille zur Macht
42. Shadowrun
43. Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
44. Fire Emblem: Awakening
45. Mass Effect 3
46. Demon's Souls
47. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
48. Persona 3
49. Xenogears
50. Pokémon Gold & Silver
51. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
52. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
53. Star Ocean: The Second Story
54. Granadia II
55. Skies of Arcadia
56. Fable II
57. Dragon Age: Inquisition
58. Tales of the Unknown, Volume I: The Bard's Tale
59. Chrono Cross
60. Icewind Dale II
61. The Witcher II: Assassins of Kings
62. Baldur's Gate
63. Valkyrie Chronicles
64. Darkest Dungeon
65. Mass Effect
66. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
67. Path of Exile
68. Divinity: Original Sin
69. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
70. Undertale
71. Jade Empire
72. Paper Mario
73. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
74. Monster Hunter Generations
75. Shadow Hearts: Covenant
76. Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
77. Radiant Historia
78. Wasteland
79. Dragon's Dogma
80. Odin Sphere
81. Destiny
82. South Park: The Stick of Truth
83. Xenoblade Chronicles
84. Horizon Zero Dawn
85. Might & Magic: World of Xeen
86. Pool of Radiance
87. Vagrant Story
88. Radiata Stories
89. Tales of Symphonia
90. Panzer Dragoon Saga
91. Bastion
92. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
93. Pillars of Eternity
94. Golden Sun
95. The World Ends With You
96. Lost Odyssey
97. Dark Cloud 2
98. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
99. Dragon Quest III
100. Torment: Tides of Numenera

Panzer Dragoon Saga at 90? LOLOLOLOL. I don't need to read the rest, but hey at least they mentioned it unlike IGN.

These types of lists are so stupid. Final Fantasy IX isn't even on there, but the real kicker is number 1.

ewwww

at least BotW is low I guess...

Skyrim is nice and all but the greatest rpg? nah not even the greatest elder scrolls game

Whats wrong with that?

Its not like they put the first FF at 33 or Icewind Dale at number 60 or anything.

Its not like they put Everquest above ultima 7, Mario rpg, xcom or Baldur's Gate

This list is a joke

The one thing that irked me the most was the fact they actually had the audacity to put Fallout 3 ahead of New Vegas.

Also, Destiny, Bloodbourne, and Horizon Zero Dawn? Are you fucking kidding me?

I played Fallout 3 after I played New Vegas and 4, and I never finished it. It just did not hold my interest the way those two games did.

New Vegas is the best one anyway. I loved the fact that your actions impacted the fate of the Mojave Wasteland, I loved the NCR, Caesar's Legion, and the other factions, the gameplay was awesome, and everything about the game drew me in and kept me playing.

4 felt like a stepback, and I just never cared about 3 at all.

We need a New Vegas 2.....

The **** is with Fable 2 making these lists? Is there anyone who looks back on Fable 2 and actually thought it was worthy of any top 100 list? Like even top 100 Fable games, Fable 2 should be 104.

And I thought IGN's list from last week was bad.

I'm not doing this again. Nuh uh. Not worth the rise in blood pressure. Nope. No sir. I can't.

Yeah I agree.

I'm curious to know what their success critera was if Skyrim is the best RPG of all time in their eyes. Most bugs in a successful RPG?

At least they got #1 right

These lists alway make some people unhappy. It is just their opinion on what games they like the most.

Skryim sucks balls

ff6 is overrated as hell

ff7>ff6

lol, Skyrim is an amazing game, but best RPG?

Mods have created better quests than Bethesda, maybe the ranking is for the PC version??

Skyrim is the worst modern TES game made IMO. It's ok; fun to mod, setting was cool. No way in hell I'd put it anywhere near my top 1 (which I really can't pick, but Skyrim isn't close)

LOL All the know it alls of SW are in uproar

Great list.

Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger being at the top definitely pleased me.

Were is final fantasy IX, it should be on the list in place of X

Final Fantasy 6 is overrated as fuk.

I've never thought of XCOM nor Destiny nor Horizon as RPGs.

Why the hell is Fallout 3 above New Vegas??

At this point I just enjoy seeing folks getting angry over the games chosen and what order, and of course the old "WHAT IS AN RPG!?" thing :P

lol yeah. At this rate, we'll be calling every game a RPG in about a decade.

It's always been kind of a loose term in video games, but it seems the bottom really felt out these past couple of years.

Well by the old school NES/SNES standards most games are at this point. Rare to find a game without experience, levels, stats, upgrades, boosts, new equipment, etc. Even Pro Evolution Soccer Master League is an RPG by those standards: team with loads of stats, take them into "combat", they get stronger, lose some guys, gain some extra, take on bigger and stronger "enemies", win "treasure" (cups) :P

Will the i like the composition of the games on the list, the ranking is horrible imo... any list that doesn't have planescape torment in the top 5 at least is terrible... also while I can appreciate what skyrim and wow have done for the gaming scene, having them up there is ridiculous!!

Yeah, I get where the idea comes from. Still find it silly though.

By a lot of peoples standards for what constitutes a game being an RPG, we should be calling the Metal Gear Solid games RPGs, as well as games like Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, etc. Even a lot of racing games could be RPGs. Doom 2016 is now an RPG. Shit, if we get retroactive with it, Super Metroid is a RPG lol. The list goes on and on and on. But obviously these games fit more snugly into other genres.

Like the other day though, I saw a dude explaining why Breath of the Wild is a RPG. Stat building, item use, and item crafting were his reasons. BOOM, that means Bayonetta is a RPG lol.

Kinda curious as to why BotW is a-ok to be described as a RPG now though. Like it was always a sin to call Zelda games RPGs back in the day. What changed with BotW? Becasue it's open world? Because your armor sets can be upgraded? I just don't get it. The game is so clearly an action-adventure game. It's like the text book definition of action-adventure. If anything, a game like MGSV is more of a RPG than BotW, but you don't see people calling MGSV a RPG.

Anyways, it's all trivial at the end of the day, who cares, right? I just think a game sharing elements that used to be exclusive to RPGs decades back shouldn't be a reason to call them RPGs now.

@ConanTheStoner: Yeah agree with all that. It's all silly anyway.

In my mind, the only games that are "Role Playing" are the ones that allow me choice with the story, nothing else. Stuff like the NES final fantasy games are just tactical combat games.

Yup, that's pretty much my take on it. A game in which my choices reflect on my character, but more importantly, the story and/or world. Which mostly falls into CRPG territory from my experience. Actual role playing being the key aspect of the game. Not just a game with a random choice here and there either.

And I'm sure there are exceptions to that, some games could allow those things while still being a better fit for another genre, but I guess that's what you get when the lines are being increasingly blurred in the game genre melting pot.

I guess it's one of those things where we all just got off on the wrong foot decades ago. At the time, if a game had turn based combat, stats, exploration, and a fantasy setting, (or at least a couple of those aspects), yep, it's an RPG lol. Would be kinda difficult to tell someone nowadays that classic Final Fantasy and Secret of Mana aren't really RPGs, but eh. Is what it is lol

Oh Ultima how I loved thee till ye made me a murderer and banished me from towns.

@lrdfancypants: yeah ultima was such a great series back in the days, no idea why we don't get a reboot of that!!

I can't take gaming journalism seriously anymore (which was already at a low point for me), how the ***** do you put Dragon Age Inquisition in a top 100 rpg list and not even list Xenoblade Chronicles X

Pfft, Destiny being in any spot is just stupid.

Whats the problem of Bloodborne (it doesnt have a u after the second o fyi)? Sure is more action based but it still is an RPG and a great one at that

You can still change stats, costumize gear (albeit not as much as the souls series, its still there due to rune mechanic), change events in the game (eileen the crow quest, umbilical chords, etc), sidequests, etc, etc... ya know the things that make an RPG...

The list is alright. Way too many FF games in it tho. Xenosaga, Inquisition and Destiny are fucking ass. Undertale is overrated and so are Lost Odyssey and Super Mario RPG.

The IGN list had a lot issues, but it was still way better than this garbage GI list.

Skyrim the best RPG? FF6 the best JRPG? What a joke.

But I'm glad to see FF7 make the top 20, at the very least.

I genuinely don't know why publications bother with these lists. This one is so bad, i'm not exactly sure where to start.

Pretty much what i was going to say. These lists are absolute trash.

Tales of Symphonia deserves to be higher up, and Fire Emblem: Awakening being where it is ... well, it's just laughable. Just because it was a commercial success that garnered more mainstream interest in the series does not make it the best of the bunch.

Yeah that's how these lists go. Some good ones, some bad ones and never in the order that they should be.

I should make my own list.

Soooo....I agree with number 2 but the rest.....so many of these are totally not RPGs. Breath of the Wild is amazing but so not an rpg imo. Lots of these games I can't understand how they can be rpgs.

@mems_1224: uh no they didn't lol. Skyrim as best RPG ever? Washed out graphics, paper thin gameplay, weak story and characters, disappointing dragon fights, and tons of bugs. I cant play it unmodded

I was about to say the same thing.

Terrible list.