From the dawn of the genre, RPG games have commonly sought to explore the realms of fiction and fantasy for players to escape their often uninteresting realities. Trading in houses and humans for dungeons and dragons is a time-honored tradition amongst many gamers, but deciding on which adventure to pursue can be a quest in its own right.
Players can save the kingdom of Hyrule, explore the farthest regions of Tamriel, or take on the demonic forces of Diablo the Prime Evil, but the question of which realm to visit first remains. There are as many epic adventures to undertake as there are sidequests, but players can never go wrong with the classics.
Final Fantasy
To be clear, this is referring to the original Square Enix RPG that spawned the gaming sensation fans know today. As one of the most popular franchises of all time, the JRPG genre as a whole owes a great deal to the first installment featuring the Heroes of the Crystal.
Taking more than a few notes from tabletop titles like Final Fantasy was a game of mages, fighters, and random encounters that spanned across a virtual kingdom. It laid the foundations for nearly all RPGs that followed, and its simple nature and familiar setting continue to win fans over even today.
Baldur’s Gate Series
Dungeons and Dragons was an inspiration for several popular fantasy RPGs, but the creators eventually got in on the act and gave fans the iconic Baldur's Gate games. The titles thrust players into the Forgotten Realms with what could be considered as the closest thing one can have to a virtual D&D campaign.
Players create their own characters, talk to NPCs, have combat encounters, and embark on an epic quest. Simply put, it has everything a fan could want out of a nightly tabletop session and then some.
Gauntlet
The grandfather of all dungeon-crawlers, Gauntlet is an arcade classic that helped shape the top-down adventures that paved the way for other dungeon dives and epic quests. It was also one of the first to introduce a multiplayer element into the formula with the inclusion of four playable characters.
Slash through monsters, find keys and treasure, then rush for the exit, rinse and repeat through floors of ghosts, goblins, and other fantasy monsters. It essentially checks all the boxes for a typical dungeon run and elements of the original game can be found scattered throughout a multitude of titles that followed.
Diablo Series
One of Gauntlet's biggest successors was Blizzard's Diablo series. The games took the simple hack-and-slash dungeon-crawler formula but added a deeper story and a more complex setting. That being said, the feeling of tearing through hordes of enemies and collecting treasure never gets old.
Players take up arms as a character from a selection of fantasy heroes like barbarians, wizards, and demon hunters, then travel through Sanctuary on a quest to defeat Diablo the Prime Evil. It's an action-packed saga that continues to rack up new players across a multitude of consoles.
Dragon Age Series
Storytelling is a heavily focused element in RPGs in general, and video games are no exception. Players will find no shortage of great stories from Bioware, but their landmark title the likes of Tolkien, Lewis, and Martin proud.
Similar to many RPGs, players create their own custom fantasy characters and send them out on a quest to save the kingdom, but Dragon Age's focus on storytelling and interactions is what earns it a special mention. Giving the player the ability to chart their destiny is an element that will always be thoroughly explored and enjoyed.
Dragon's Crown
Dragon's Crown is without a doubt the most beautiful RPG on the list, and it's practically a love letter to everything that makes the fantasy genre brilliant. Everything from Dungeons and Dragons and Conan the Barbarian to Lord of the Rings and the works of Walt Disney is referenced and given glorious homage in this action-packed sidescroller.
Like with many of its kind, players take their pick of adventurer characters and set out on a series of quests across the realms of Hydeland to protect the kingdom. Dungeons will be explored and dragons will be faced, but there's much more to this game than meets the eye.
World of Warcraft
Honestly, this fantasy MMORPG has sucked players new and old into the realm of Azeroth and turned them into powerful heroes with every new add-on and installment.
This game is an icon of the genre, and there are few gamers out there worth their salt who haven't at least heard of it. Because of this game, like raiding and the infamous Leroy Jenkins have entered the mainstream. Not only is it a prominent figure in the gaming industry, but gaming culture as well.
Kingdoms of Amalur
Known by many as the greatest game nobody played, Kingdoms of Amalur is an underrated gem of a game that blends the action of the hack-and-slash genre with the epic scale of a story-based adventure title to create a phenomenal title that any RPG fan, regardless of genre preference, can get behind.
The player is forced into a war between mortals and fae but is given the ability to change the hands of fate. This ability not only grants some powerful fighting moves but also allows the character a unique fluidity of gameplay, granting the player the ease of changing classes and weapons midgame if need be. It's definitely one of the most -friendly RPGs out there.
Skyrim
There is practically no excuse to not play explore the mountains of Tamriel.
It's a game where the story is a suggestion, allowing for the player to have free reign. They have the option to be the hero Skyrim desperately needs, go off on their own adventures, or a pleasant combination of the two. Whatever decision players make, few games allow such freedom in a fantasy realm.
Dragon Quest Series
When it comes to traditional fantasy games, players can't go wrong with any of the Dragon Quest games. Players essentially have their choice of fantasy epic when jumping into one of these JRPGs, how could they not with a series containing 11 title entries. But no series has made fans get as lost in the genre as this RPG juggernaut.
Rivaling Final Fantasy in of popularity, the Dragon Quest series has the player controlling a party of adventurers undertaking various quests across multiple fantasy kingdoms. Yes, it ticks a lot of boxes for the genre, but its colorful, high fantasy themes are all part of its appeal. It's a classic through and through, and one that should satisfy any fan of the genre.