We live in a golden age of role-playing games (RPGs). Long gone are the days of games trickling out from a handful of companies, localized with all the care of scribbled notes on cocktail napkins. The indie scene has exploded, too, leading to more games than we could reasonably play in a lifetime. The trouble is, there are now so many RPGs that it can be easy to miss great ones. Those released without Square Enix’s PR might are even harder to find. To give you an idea of where to begin, here are five fantastic RPGs you might have missed.
Lufia and the Fortress of Doom
Lufia’s sequel, Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals, tends to receive most of the praise from gamers and critics. And they’re not mistaken: Lufia 2 is a fantastic game. However, you shouldn’t let that dissuade you from playing through the original Super NES classic, Lufia and the Fortress of Doom. It presents a fairly basic story, though its characters are charming and interesting. Its localization is surprisingly good, considering its contemporaries all struggled to put a sentence together without any misspellings or awkward translations. Unlike many older RPGs, you’ll find both solid humor and effective drama here. The battle system might take a little getting used to. It adheres to a somewhat archaic method of enemy targeting found in several old-school RPGs. But if you don’t mind a bit of a grind, Lufia is a ton of fun, even today.
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Lunar: The Silver Star revolutionized RPGs when it launched for the Sega CD back in 1993, but its PlayStation remaster blows it away. The Lunar games, at least in America, are known for some of the most lighthearted and downright hilarious dialogue in RPG history. The geniuses at localizer Working Designs knew their way around the written word, and it shows. The story it tells is serious without taking itself too seriously, and its hand-drawn art style holds up well today. Not to mention the high-quality anime sequences and songs that will make you think you’re watching a Japanese Disney film. If you can track down a copy of this PlayStation classic, you won’t regret it.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
How could a game with a generic title like The Legend of Heroes be any good? If you can look past the title, you’ll find a whole new world of RPGs. Trails in the Sky merges an exciting, position-based battle system with an intricate political plot and the most well-developed characters you’ll meet in an RPG. It’s all pulled together by one of the best localizations in Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs), hands down. Once you play Trails in the Sky, you’ll want to tackle every game in the series. Or at least the ones currently available here. Fingers crossed it grows in popularity, so the missing games find new life in America.
The World Ends With You
There are very few games that have “oozes with style” as one of their defining characteristics. Persona 5 is one, but The World Ends With You did it first. Its twist-containing story, set in modern-day Japan, is complemented by one of the most unique battle systems in JRPGs, whereby you control two characters at the same time. Its central message — the importance of opening up and letting others into your world — is surprisingly deep. The music will stick with you long after you stop playing, maybe even finding its way into your iTunes playlist. It’s an incredible game overshadowed by Square Enix’s other titanic releases. But fans and newbies are in luck. A remastered version with new content is coming this year to the Nintendo Switch.
Cosmic Star Heroine
Cosmic Star Heroine, an indie science fiction RPG, is one of those elusive Kickstarter video game success stories. Graphically, the game resembles Chrono Trigger, and the illustrated cutscenes that tell its story could have come straight out of Phantasy Star IV. Also, not unlike the Suikoden series, you’ll find yourself responsible for building a base and recruiting followers. Clearly, it took inspiration from the best. Its battle system is uniquely its own, however, requiring you to balance attacking and resting to recharge your techniques. Cosmic Star Heroine‘s diverse cast of characters and political story that doesn’t fall into grimdark territory make it a worthy heir to classic 16-bit RPGs.
Whether you’re a new RPG fan or an old timer hoping to catch up, hopefully, this list gave you an idea of where to begin tackling this enormous and exciting genre.
