1. Suikoden II
If FFVII holds a special place in my heart as my first ever RPG, Suikoden II holds one for being the first I bought with my own money. My sister and I pooled our saved allowance to buy it solely based on its gorgeous cover art and premise. We weren’t disappointed, immediately sucked into an intriguing fantasy world of political machinations and horrific warfare with believable characters that were far too human even when doing horrendous deeds, of everyday people from all walks of life heroically uniting for a grand purpose. We spent hours poring over character lists to ensure we recruited each of the 108 Star of Destiny, not to mention how the true ending affected us. Suikoden II is the reason the Suikoden series is one of my favorites and a game I’ll always remember fondly.
2. Mass Effect 2
The Mass Effect trilogy is an RPG highlight for me, but if I had to choose a single game from its lineup, I’d lean toward Mass Effect 2. It’s a stellar continuation of a space opera epic, successfully weaving returning plot points and new characters into a compelling tale. I love how the returning cast developed, and was delighted getting to know the new party members and Normandy crew. The suicide mission is intense in the best of ways, and I enjoy how this sequel sets the stage for what comes next in Mass Effect 3. Plus, the Garrus romance is a huge selling point for me! I’ve replayed ME2 twice so far, with very few differences in either playthrough, yet I still feel that I’ve seen a satisfying story arc both times because I love the choices I’ve made. ME2 is peak BioWare, showcasing they know how to develop incredible games.
3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak
I’ve adored pretty much every Falcom game I’ve played so far, but The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak easily cemented itself as a personal favorite when I played it earlier this year. It has all of the features I adore from the games in the Ys and The Legend of Heroes series, including enjoyable characters, entertaining gameplay, a compelling overreaching narrative, solid world-building, and incredible music. When you throw in the more story-relevant decision points throughout the tale along with a mature storyline that thoughtfully tackles several tough issues, then you have a phenomenal RPG experience. The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak cements why I adore when Falcom goes all out in their titles!
4. Final Fantasy VII
As mentioned previously, the original Final Fantasy VII always holds a special place in my heart as my first-ever RPG experience. I still remember when my uncle bought it as a birthday gift for my sister and I because “it sounded like it had more to it than just mindless fighting.” We quickly found out he was right when we started up the game, getting drawn into a phenomenal, emotionally poignant tale. I’ve lost count of how many different save files I had of my favorite scenes or how many times we excitedly talked about plot and character reveals to our very patient mother and grandmother. FFVII was my first taste of what an RPG was and, while I have other favorites in the overall FF series now, I can’t oversell how important FFVII is to my formative RPG fan experience.
5. Growlanser Generations
Growlanser Generations is actually a collection of two games in the SRPG series published by Working Designs: Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice and Growlanser III: The Dual Darkness. I picked it up largely for the gorgeous character art by artist Satoshi Urushihara, but ultimately enjoyed the grid-free strategy RPG combat, compelling fantasy narratives, likable characters, and sheer amount of choice throughout both. I’m especially fond of the third Growlanser title as a stand-alone game, but also became so invested in the second’s storyline as an epilogue for the original Growlanser that I even imported a copy of that game just to see how it shaped the second’s story. There are a lot of bells and whistles in the collection, and I continue to hold the Growlanser series (especially Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time) in high regard, even if certain later games in the series aren’t quite as strong.
Non-RPG 1: Rival Schools: United by Fate
I spent so much time playing Rival Schools: United By Fate that I actually developed blisters on my fingers from button combo inputting! I just couldn’t help it, though! I fell in love with the game’s colorful and zany cast of likable characters (that reminded me of “Street Fighter in High School),” the fun fighting gameplay mechanics, and the surprisingly extensive story mode. I don’t often get the chance to gush about Rival Schools anymore, so I’m thrilled I can do so here!
Non-RPG 2: Tekken 5
I’ve played the entirety of the Tekken fighting game series. As much as I enjoy them all, I still feel that Tekken 5 is my personal highlight of the series. I enjoy the sheer variety of its character roster, the entertaining gameplay, the epic opening movie, and even how surprisingly robust the individual characters’ stories are. It hits as close to a “perfect” balance as possible, something I sometimes feel is lacking in the other Tekken games in small ways.
