No. 14 Final Fantasy IX (PS1)

I feel Final Fantasy hit it's absolute peak from PS1 to PS2 and the one game that often gets overshadowed by VII and even VIII and XII is this classic, the last entry in the PS1 FF record book. In my opinion, it's one of the most charming JRPGs ever made. The graphics don't hold up so well but the art style is cutesy but still effective. It's one of the few FF games or JRPGs in general that walk that tight rope between silly and serious with excellence.

The battle system is familiar to anyone who has played FF games, battle screen, pick your poison, off you go. It's simple and intuitive although I prefer what they did in FFXII with real time enemies and battles. However, there are a few quirks that are unique to this title, including changes in the save game feature and a more class oriented character progression. For SEs last game on the system, they really did take more than a few risks.

@dexda: I could not have put it better myself. The PS2 is the greatest console ever and elevated gaming to a level we just won't reach again. A member on here said that was the era where games were cheap enough to develop that risks could be taken and there were still enough resources to combine great tech with great gameplay.

Now we have an abundance of games that look great but don't play that well or are just rehashes of game play styles we've alreday seen a millions times or there's the deluge of indy titles that play on our nostalgia in the hope of selling copies. Plus, games cost so much to make now that each gen is having progressively less games released on it.

On the last gen consoles, I'd probably label only a handful of games as great, ME2 ,FO3, MGS IV, GTA V...and I dunno. Maybe Fifa 12 and Fight Night 4 in terms of sports. On the PC it's the same issue with PC exclusives (AAA) a dying breed.

On this gen, I can't really recommend any game. MGS V was a hack job and FO4 is inferior to it's predecessor, although still enjoyable. Sports games are just ok.

Being on PS4, I have no idea as Bethesda have not implemented them yet.

Having said that, the size of certain mods aren't the problem, it's the fact that a graphics mod for example may not work on a PS4 wheeras on a PC, with various graphics card upgrades and so on, you can push it that little bit more.

No. 15 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC)

This was the first game in the TES series that I ever played and the medievil-esque world and grand scale. From the opening level to it's climax, Oblivion is a game that understands pacing and the use of action in an RPG. A lot of the skills are aimed at combat and this series never really makes any compromises when it comes to combat. It's all first person hacking and slashing. That is a great thing.

That's not to say other elements of the game aren't important and the story is probably the best in the series. Graphically, it was just great to look at at the time, even if the animation was stiff. Traversing the world was just as enjoyable as the Fallout series. There's always an objective to be completed but there is a lot to be distracted by. Well made scenario, new locations and varied side quests.

Warning: For anyone looking to play oblivion today, it may seem a bit...old fashioned, where Skyrim updated many of the systems on offer and expanded the scale of the enemies. That's not to say you shouldn't play it but you may not have the same experience as I did when playing it for the first time.

@trumpetsgo which game?

@scoots9 Why was the writing bad? It was a very well told story which did fall flat at times as do most games. The level design and much of the mission structure was similar to ME2, so that complaint doesn't make sense. In terms of TW2, I Can completely understand someone having it in their top 20 but for me, it didn't cut it.

@killered3 You know what, I get you. There are certain games for me that I just can't get into, even though they may be acclaimed.

No. 16 Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

I bought a Wii many years after it had reached it's peak and was expecting a lot from it's premier RPG, Monolith Soft's Xenoblade. This game hit just about every expectation, a vast world to explore, a genuinely interesting combat system, traditional RPG development systems and a "proper" game that works with the Wiis unique controls. I guess this is what Nintendo must have felt like it's peak 25 years ago when some of the best JRPGs around were released across the NES and SNES.

I mentioned the combat system and I'd like to bring up the aggro system which is just wonderful and cheeky and inventive. Which ever character performs the most actions, in a battle, ends up with an ever growing ring around them. The bigger the ring, the more the enemy decides to attack them. As that happens, you can use your characters with smaller aggro rings to attack the baddie...who won't be paying much attention to them. It's such a fun system, where you can almost trick the enemy AI into looking away from your real threats. And you can use some of your characters as bait which is always hilarious.

My only real issue with the game was that it looked like something from a bygone era. I know that's due to the Wiis lack of power but it also lacked the art design of PS2 era JRPGs. But hey, who cares when I was having that much fun.

Gothic was a pretty good game, although I never finished it but it wasn't better than a number of open world games since, sandbox or no sandbox.

Plus, that video is a bit weird. Adding icons on maps and showing you the route to your main objective does not take away from actual exploration because you don't have to stick to that route. I thought everyone knew that. I challenge anyone to be driving along in GTA V or walking along in FO3/4 or going from A to B in Skyrim and to not find a new location, get distracted and end up doing something completely different.

Plasma >>>> LCD

Having said that and I do not mean any disrespect but the PS4 is simply a better graphical machine, I dunno how you can't see that. Maybe try some glasses.

I will however say this: on that gen of consoles, with the limitations that developers had, they needed to be better in their art direction and created characters and environments that were far more stylised and still hold up today for that reason. Not better than the PS4 but still very good looking.

The more I hear about No Man's Sky, the more repetitive and boring it sounds. Having said that, I might explore it once there's a massive price drop and some genuine, honest reviews come out.

In terms of this topic, as with most games of this type, you can take as long as you like in the game world. I'm sure it will take gamers more invested in the world and looking for secrets far longer than 30 hours.

@PETERAKO: ME3 may have lighter RPG elements than more RPGs but it is most definitely an RPG game, especially with the modern blue print of choices, conversations, various environments to explore and choosing a character back story and specific skills.

Not quite the traditional RPG that older Elder Scrolls games used to be for example, but an RPG none the less.