There are many varieties of video game genres that can grab the audience’s attention, but the different interpretations of RPGs can lead to some of the more fulfilling gaming experiences. The sprawling nature of RPGs usually means that they can tell deeper stories and really dig into characters in a way that other games can’t.
It’s satisfying to see the genre morph as it takes elements from strategy or action games to develop new types of experiences. There are lots of good strategy RPGs, but so many are decades old that they’re in serious need of a reboot. There are some real hidden SRPG gems that modern audiences deserve to play.
10 Vandal Hearts
Vandal Hearts is a very strong SRPG from Konami for the PlayStation that was popular during the ’90s and received both a sequel and prequel for the console. The game falls back on a lot of the tenets of the SRPG genre like political unrest and nations at war, but since Vandal Hearts also skews towards fantasy, there are dragons and lots of magic present in the combat. Vandal Hearts may feel less essential to bring back as some of these other games, but it’s an old series that would benefit from modern gaming capabilities.
9 Arc The Lad
Arc the Lad is an interesting SRPG series because it’s had close to ten titles. While it doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel for the genre, it tells an engrossing story about underdogs who fight corruption and each game progressively adds to the scope of things. The series was a mainstay on the PlayStation and had much greater appeal in Japan. It’d be nice to see things get overhauled and get a title that combines the stories of Arc the Lad and Arc the Lad II into a new game.
8 Langrisser
The Langrisser games are quite deep and the SRPG series meshes fantasy with a Germanic environment while incorporating headier concepts like religion, Gods, and mysticism. The games offer up a ton of options when it comes to both characters & story avenues, and it finds a combat system that’s somewhat original for the genre.
The series was effectively dormant since 1999 and although 2015 marked a strange new release for the Nintendo 3DS, it’s still a property that isn’t on enough people’s radars and deserves a comeback. Atlus’ Growlanser is considered a spiritual successor, but it’s not the same.
7 Final Fantasy Tactics
The Final Fantasy series has found such levels of success that it’s been able to experiment, not just within its mainline series, but also with various spin-offs that pursue different genres. Final Fantasy Tactics takes many of the franchise’s defining themes and incorporates them into tactical RPG gameplay. The Tactics series has received various ports, updates, and spin-offs, but the games have struggled to reach the same level of success as Final Fantasy proper. It deserves another shot in a big way because the formula is just as good.
6 Vanguard Bandits
The major appeal of Vanguard Bandits is that it takes knights and meshes them together with extreme mecha action. Characters battle in mech suits that makes combat deeply enjoyable and wildly anachronistic. It feels like it should be an anime. Vanguard Bandits is an exceptionally cool SRPG for the PlayStation that never managed to catch on and didn’t receive any sequels. This is unfortunate because it features some genuinely good ideas, which makes Vanguard Bandits more appropriate for a reboot that figures out how to make these ideas work.
5 Tactics Ogre
The Tactics Ogre series is one of the more distinctly Japanese SRPG takes on the genre. It begins with powerful Gods and demons, but then embraces more of a dark fantasy angle that grounds itself in the policy and power struggles of different kingdoms. There’s an epic story that spans hundreds of years and while many sequels & updates have happened over the years, a new reboot that takes the gameplay elements of Let Us Cling Together, but combines it with March of the Black Queen’s story, could work as a great reintroduction to the series.
4 Crystal Warriors
Back when the video game market was largely occupied by just Nintendo and Sega, Sega’s Game Gear didn’t cause much of a stir– which means the handful of quality titles for it are in dire need of a revival. Crystal Warriors is an SRPG with heavy elemental use that strays away from exploration.
What’s so interesting about it is that there are neutral monsters that can be defeated and recruited for battle. It also has a punishing permanent death factor, too. Royal Stone is another SRPG for the Game Gear that features the same mechanics.
3 Bahamut Lagoon
Bahamut Lagoon is considered by some to be a spin-off of the Final Fantasy series, but focused on Bahamut and other dragons from the canon. Bahamut Lagoon had a lot of the Final Fantasy Tactics team involved and the title even incorporates a Pokemon-like aspect where battle involves raising & leveling up dragons before dividing them between different squads. Bahamut Lagoon was released for the Super Nintendo, so it’s long overdue for a reboot or remaster.
2 Jeanne D’Arc
The PSP is a very overlooked piece of gaming hardware and while it never found widespread acclaim, it’s still a handheld with a number of fantastic games. Jeanne d’Arc is one of the best titles on the PSP, but it’s highly obscure due to how it hasn’t been ported anywhere else. The game is a strong mix of fantasy with actual historical events from the 15th century with a story that’s just as engrossing as the combat. Jeanne d’Arc needs a reboot not just because it’s an older title, but because barely anyone got to experience the original.
1 Shining Force
Shining Force was a major SRPG for Sega during the ’90s. The games feature a standard kingdoms at war storyline, but they expertly explore this topic with each new game. The final entries for the Sega Saturn hinted at what the series would look like in a new 3D era of gaming, but it never came to be. It’d be fantastic to see that dream get fully realized, letting this universe flourish with modern gaming capabilities.
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