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Best rpg games on GamesNostalgia

RPG games, or role-playing games, have come a long way since their humble beginnings as pen-and-paper adventures. From classic tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons to immersive virtual reality experiences, RPG games have captivated players with their rich storytelling, character development, and strategic gameplay.

Some of the first computer games were RPGs. Initially, they were entirely text-based; then, from Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai, they began incorporating simple graphics. Richard Garriot's Akalabeth: World of Doom was the first first-person RPG, but Lord British real masterpiece was the Ultima series, one of the most important franchises in the RPG genre, along with Wizardry, Might and Magic, and others. Traditional computer RPGs feature turn-based combat, as seen in The Bard's Tale, but also in other titles such as SSI's Dark Sun: Shattered Lands.

The dungeon crawler sub-genre was made popular by Dungeon Master in 1987 and later by Eye of the Beholder and many other titles like Ishar: Legend of the Fortress. These titles featured a first-person view, in pseudo-3D, with real-time combat.

The Immortal and Darkmere: The Nightmare's Begun are examples of isometric RPGs, and also, the masterpiece Ultima VII: The Black Gate uses a kind of isometric top-down perspective.

To see a full 3D graphical implementation but also a more faithful roleplaying experience, we need to wait for The Elder Scrolls: Arena and The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. These games included gameplay that involved exploring vast, detailed landscapes and interacting with lifelike characters.

The RPG genre doesn't end here because we also have Japanese RPGs, like Sweet Home, or tactical RPGs like Jagged Alliance.

Finally, we cannot forget the legendary action-rpg Diablo, the first chapter of the popular series, probably the most iconic name in all the computer role-playing games genre, a title that redefined the genre with randomly generated levels and frenetic hack-and-slash combat.

Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds dos

Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (or simply Ultima Underworld 2) is the sequel to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. It was developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems in 1993.

Year: 1993 Genre: Role Playing

3d fantasy first-person rpg

Diablo windows

Diablo is a famous "hack and slash" role-playing game created by Blizzard and released at the end of 1996 for Windows. Two years later, it was released to Macintosh. It is not only...

Year: 1996 Genre: Role Playing

action-rpg fantasy hack and slash isometric real-time rpg

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss dos

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a fantasy action RPG developed by Blue Sky Productions (Looking Glass Studios). It was published by Origin Systems in 1992 for DOS. It was l...

Year: 1992 Genre: Role Playing

3d dungeon crawler fantasy first-person rpg

Eye of the Beholder C64 commodore-64

Eye of the Beholder C64/128 is an incredible unofficial conversion for the Commodore 64 and 128 of the famous dungeon crawler Eye of the Beholder. The original RPG Eye of the Beholder was released in 1991 for the Amiga and MS-DOS.

Year: 2022 Genre: Role Playing

commodore 128 commodore 64 d&d dungeon crawler enhanced remakes fantasy party-based public domain rpg sword and sorcery unofficial port

The Bard's Tale amiga

Tales of the Unknown: Volume I - The Bard’s Tale (or simply The Bard's Tale) is a role playing game designed by Michael Cranford and developed by Interplay. Released initially ...

Year: 1986 Genre: Role Playing

apple 2 original game dungeon crawler fantasy party-based rpg sword and sorcery turn-based rpg

Dungeon Master amigadosatari-st

Dungeon Master, developed by FLT Games initially in 1987 for the Atari ST, is a grid-based 3D action role-playing game. It is one of the best-selling Atari ST games of all time. Th...

Year: 1988 Genre: Role Playing

atari st dungeon crawler fantasy party-based real-time rpg sword and sorcery

Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon amigados

Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon is a role-playing game developed by Westwood Associates and the sequel to Eye of the Beholder. It used a improved version of the fi...

Year: 1991 Genre: Role Playing

d&d dungeon crawler fantasy forgotten realms real-time role-playing rpg sword and sorcery

Eye of the Beholder amigados

Eye of the Beholder is a popular role-playing game developed by Westwood Associates for Strategic Simulations Inc, released in 1991 for MS-DOS and Amiga. Later it was also ported to SNES and SEGA CD.

Year: 1991 Genre: Role Playing

d&d dungeon crawler fantasy first-person forgotten realms real-time rpg sword and sorcery

Ultima VII: Forge of Virtue dos

Ultima VII: Forge of Virtue is an expansion/DLC for Ultima VII, the famous seventh chapter of the RPG series Ultima created by Richard Garriott. Forge of Virtue was released in Sep...

Year: 1992 Genre: Role Playing

fantasy medieval party-based role-playing rpg sword and sorcery top-down

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall dos

The Elder Scrolls II - Daggerfall is an open-world single-player action RPG by Bethesda Softworks. It was released in 1996 on the PC. It's the second entry in the popular Elder Scr...

Year: 1996 Genre: Role Playing

action-rpg fantasy freeware medieval non-linear open world rpg sandbox sword and sorcery

Legend amiga

Legend is a 3D Isometric fantasy role-playing game developed by Mindscape and published by The Software Toolworks in 1992. It was released for the Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS. The title, known in the U.

Year: 1992 Genre: Role Playing

adventure-rpg fantasy flip-screen isometric mutants rpg sword and sorcery

Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny dosamiga

Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny is the fifth entry in the role-playing video game series Ultima and it was released initially in 1988 for DOS, Apple II, and Commodore 64, later followed by other platforms.

Year: 1988 Genre: Role Playing

apple 2 original game fantasy rpg turn-based rpg wanderer

Eye of the Beholder II AGA amiga

Eye Of The Beholder II: The Legend Of Darkmoon is the sequel to the popular dungeon crawler rpg created by Westwood Associates and published by Strategic Simulations Inc in 1991 for the Amiga and MS-DOS.

Year: 2006 Genre: Role Playing

aga d&d dungeon crawler reverse engineered rpg sword and sorcery

Sweet Home nes

Sweet Home is a survival horror roleplaying game produced and published by Capcom for Famicom in 1989. Although it was released exclusively for Japan, it received an excellent translation for English-speaking players.

Year: 1989 Genre: Role Playing

horror jrpg mystery nes original game non-linear rpg supernatural survival horror