One of the best things a video game can do is inspire others. Super Mario Bros. wasn't the first platformer, but it definitely paved the way for other platformers like it. FATE and Wolfenstein 3D were great early starters for the first-person shooter genre. With RPGs and RPG mechanics being all the rage right now, let's take a look at the games that have influenced the genre on specific levels.
The 10 Most Perfect RPGs of All Time, Ranked
Achieving ultimate perfection as a video game is no small feat, but these titles have managed to climb there thanks to their impeccable quality.
Subsequent RPGs did not create these mechanics, but they certainly popularized them over time. What's the next RPG or JRPG that does this? It's hard to say, but let's discuss all of these great examples first.
Diablo
Loot based action RPG
Diablo he didn't create the idea of loot because RPGs have always had some sort of equipment system, either from chests or monster drops. Diablo and its sequel can at least be popularized for making the booty action genre more popular, especially when Diablo 2 he was released.
There are direct modern games that took inspiration Diablo series, incl Path of Exile 2 or Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr. The loot-based action RPG genre also evolved with shooters and Diablo can certainly be thanked for leading the way for games like Borderlands 4 and Fate 2.
Pokemon Blue/Red
Catching monsters on a global scale
Pokemon blue
- Released
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September 28, 1998
- ESRB
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Each
Pokemon blue and Pokemon red they didn't create the idea of befriending monsters to be companions in battle when they launched the Game Boy in 1996, although their systems were quite unique. Other progenitors include Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride in 1992 on the SNES, and even some early Shin Megami Tensei games can count.
That said, there's a reason fans call monster-catching games Pokemon clones today, as the overall Pokemon franchise has dominated this specific RPG subgenre. Palworld and Stormy waves are two modern examples of games that feature different monster-catching mechanics, but there are also classics like Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and Yo-kai watch.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
The birth of the Metroidvania RPG
Firstly, Super Metroid it helped establish what a good action game could be, that is, a game with one interconnected map that players progress through as they gain new abilities. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night took this idea and added RPG elements to the mix, including a leveling up and equipment system, paving the way for the Metroidvania genre.
Calling something a Metroidvania is shorthand for a specific type of game, although some still prefer to use the search action descriptor. Some great RPG examples include Metroidvanias Miss, Touhou Luna Nightsand Lodoss War Record: Deedlit In Wonder Labyrinthalong with upcoming ones Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement.
Personality 3
Socially aware teenagers
Personality 3 changed Persona series forever, making the franchise what it is known for today. This includes focusing on a group of high school students who go through a linear progression of days, choosing to hang out with friends to bond as well as fighting turn-based battles.
10 Near-Perfect JRPGs, Ranked
A little tweaking here and there and there's no doubt that this JRPG could have turned into a serious GOTY contender.
While RPGs used to feature romance options, and there was an entire dating sim genre in Japan with RPG elements, Personality 3 definitely made the idea more of an inspiration factor for many games in the future, or at least for western audiences. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel and Fire Emblem: Three Houses are two great examples.
Soul of Demons
The Soulslike Is Born
Soul of Demons wasn't the first game created by FromSoftware, but it's definitely the game that started the modern revolution in action RPGs: the Soulslike. Upon death, players leave their upgrade currency behind and have to retrieve it via undead, and this challenging nature could be attributed to roguelikes or even undead MMOs.
That said, the Soulslike experience is very different, and FromSoftware has evolved its systems over time Soul of Demons on Elden Ring. Some inspired examples include newly released Nioh 3alongside other greats like Lies P and First Berserker: Khazan.
Dragon Quest 3: Seeds Of Salvation
Systems of deeper classes
Class-based systems in RPGs can be attributed to everyone Dungeons & Dragonstabletop edition, as many elements were derived from many of its rules. For RPG video games, at least from a JRPG perspective, Dragon Quest 3: Seeds of Salvation was one of the great games that featured a class system, later known as Professions.
Players could recruit party members at pubs and then develop their classes, choosing new ones once they reached certain levels, and this was a NES game. Final Fantasy 3 was soon to be followed by the NES, which created a Job system for the series, and the idea of class selection in video games is now so ubiquitous, since Diablo 4 on Metaphor: ReFantazio. Overall, Dungeons & Dragons is the real hero here, but no one can discount the far-reaching franchises that Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy they had
Chrono Trigger
A combination of time travel
Chrono Trigger is one of those phenoms that it's still hard to believe actually came together on the SNES, and his ideas slowly took off over time. It was a time travel RPG that featured a world map with no random battles, enemies that spawned in dungeons, and characters that could team up with other party members to create double or triple attacks.
Sea of stars was definitely inspired Chrono Trigger in terms of the combo system, world map and encounter rate, while the upcoming Threads of Time looks to be an even bigger tribute. Then there are other time-based RPGs like Brilliant history and Final Fantasy 13-2.
Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
Active turn-based battles
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is another gem from the SNES era with very progressive ideas that would spin off into two separate Mario-based RPG franchises: Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi. In turn-based battles, players could block damage with a well-timed button press, or they could also increase their attack power with a special command.
10 Perfect RPGs Nobody Talks About Anymore
In a perfect world, this RPG would be as accessible and discussed as Skyrim, but unfortunately, they are hardly talked about anymore.
This active turn-based combat system didn't catch on right away, but it's definitely growing in popularity as the overall turn-based RPG genre returns. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Sea of stars are two notable examples, with more to come Dosa Divas be a future example.
EarthBound
When you know, you know
EarthBoundor just in general Mother series, inspired a future generation of indie creators to make weird RPGs. There's nothing mechanically too different about it EarthBound from other RPGs except for the roulette-based HP system and the battle window, but when players jump into EarthBoundstyle game, they know what to expect.
EarthBound– games inspired often have some of the strangest characters and can often have art styles that are unconventional. Undertale, Citizens of Earth, The hermit and the pigand even action RPGs like East all this can be attributed to wild nature EarthBoundwhich at this point is practically a very narrowly defined but specific subgenre.
River City Ransom
Adding RPG elements to brawlers
Beat 'em ups used to be one of the dominant genres in arcades and consoles, but they all played the same, with players moving through levels linearly from left to right. River City Ransom was different for the NES game as players could explore the titular city in a proto 2D open world and level up their hero by dining at restaurants.
The design of the layout directly inspired Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Gamebut since then there have been other brawlers with RPG elements that included more straightforward leveling systems. Castle Crashers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge are two examples. While River City Ransom wasn't a huge hit, his ideas certainly caught on over time for the indie rioters scene.
8 Great Open World RPGs That Let You Play Your Way, Rated
With varying degrees of system selection and an open world to boot, players won't find more liberating RPGs than these.
