Persona 3
Among JRPGs, the Persona franchise is easily considered a staple on the same level of popularity as Final Fantasy. Persona 3 was the first to hit the PS2. It benefited from incredible combat and updated graphics. It was also given a PSP port, and is now playable on the PS3 as a PS2 classic and the Vita.
This is a game that merits two or three playthroughs. Complete playthroughs. This nets at least 240 hours for full content, and then there are a ton of extra dungeons as well as the incredible epilogue/conclusion of ‘the Answer.’ Without a doubt, the incredible story, characters, and dating sim/dungeoneering gameplay of Persona 3 will occupy you for months.
Baldur’s Gate II
Thanks to the recent enhanced edition, more gamers remember this gem. Even at the time of its release, however, critics and gamers alike praised its depth, storytelling, characters, and incredible length. With an incredible amount of content, much of it specially tailored to the game’s many possible classes, it remains one of the greatest examples of BioWare RPGs to date. Heck, even Mass Effect references it repeatedly.
Continuing the story of Baldur’s Gate, the sequel easily stands on its own as a fantastic game. Flush with an incredible mod support base that would make Skyrim blush, Baldur’s Gate II is a game you can start up and, while playing, forget to eat.
Persona 4
Atlus has a knack for delivering incredible RPGs. Persona is an incredible series. Combined together, and you get sleepless nights, missed obligations, and a soft spot for party members. Enter Persona 4, the somewhat more popular entrant in the franchise.
There’s a certain magic about Persona 4. A magic that gets its own re-release, two TV anime, and an incredible following. Be it the style, the characters, the music, or the gameplay, Persona 4 is a knockout hit. Expect to spend hundreds of hours enjoying the game’s brilliant combination of happy-go-lucky enjoyment and bitter tragedy.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
More of a strategy RPG, the latest rendition of XCOM is a true enemy to productivity. There are two major factors at work here. The first is the joy of building a secret underground military installation whilst shooting down UFO’s to research tech to shoot down more UFO’s to research more tech to….
*ahem*
The second factor is the incredible capacity for emergent narrative that XCOM has. Unlike the other items in this glorious time-sinking list, XCOM relies on the player more than any other to create a story. The characters they guide into battle and possibly lose are their own, named and trained and raised by them, and them alone. It’s a devastating combination, and it’s executed perfectly for hours… and hours… and hours….
Dragon Age Inquisition
This really shouldn’t need any explanation. If anything, a single word would suffice: Skyrim. Not to say Dragon Age: Inquisition is a copycat, but the emphasis on open world mechanics and freedom of play is blatantly apparent in BioWare’s latest epic.
And this was extremely well-received. Gamers are sinking hours and hours and hours into this latest epic RPG. With stirring tales of heroism, massively interesting characters, and an intricate combat system involving fighting dragons, Dragon Age: Inquisition will top gamers’ list for years. Some might never uninstall it, going back to it again and again.
Fire Emblem Awakening
This is a slight underdog, being on the 3DS platform. It is no less worthy, however, as Fire Emblem Awakening was easily a game of the year candidate in its prime. Shocking the West with its quality, this was a game that gamers could not put down.
Challenging strategy gameplay, training and raising characters, playing matchmaker, and a stirring tale of derring-do and fighting fate, Fire Emblem Awakening is easily a classic. Replay upon replay upon replay is necessary to see all the excellent content, and Fire Emblem is a game that keeps on giving.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Whoa. Talk about nostalgia. But if there’s one oldie that deserves to be on this list, it’s Super Mario RPG.. The game that started the Paper Mario franshise years later had its origins on the Super Nintendo. And you wouldn’t have expected a game featuring Bowser and Mario teaming up to do so well.
But it did. A smash hit by almost everyone’s accounting, Super Mario RPG was a drastic change for Nintendo’s approach to the Mario franchise, and it paid off in spades. Without a doubt, this is a classic to look into. And then sink weeks of time into.
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