# The 32 Best RPGs of the 1990s

> Sixteen-bit sprites share space with pre-rendered backdrops and isometric PC dungeons, Japanese console epics set against Western computer classics. Some sold millions, others only became legends years later.

*By YPB Team · Published November 1, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-32-best-rpgs-of-the-1990s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Chrono Trigger** — score 1000/1000
   The 1995 Super Famicom time-travel adventure from the Dream Team of Sakaguchi, Horii and Toriyama.
2. **Final Fantasy VII** — score 959/1000
   Square's 1997 PlayStation blockbuster that took Cloud, Aerith and Sephiroth to a worldwide audience and popularised JRPGs in the West.
3. **Final Fantasy Tactics** — score 708/1000
   Square's 1997 tactical RPG of political intrigue in the war-torn kingdom of Ivalice.
4. **Final Fantasy IV** — score 645/1000
   Square's 1991 tale of dark knight Cecil, which introduced the Active Time Battle system.
5. **Terranigma** — score 645/1000
   Quintet's 1995 action RPG about resurrecting the world, released in Europe but never in North America.
6. **Legend of Mana** — score 599/1000
   Square's 1999 painterly action RPG where you build the world by placing artifacts on a map.
7. **Phantasy Star IV** — score 599/1000
   Sega's 1993 Mega Drive finale to the Algol saga, with manga-panel cutscenes and combo attacks.
8. **Xenogears** — score 548/1000
   Square's ambitious 1998 mecha RPG wrestling with religion, memory and psychology.
9. **Fallout** — score 548/1000
   Interplay's 1997 retro-futurist wasteland RPG with turn-based combat and darkly comic choices.
10. **Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together** — score 548/1000
   Quest's 1995 tactical RPG about ethnic conflict, from the creators of Final Fantasy Tactics.
11. **System Shock 2** — score 548/1000
   Irrational and Looking Glass's 1999 sci-fi horror RPG aboard a starship ruled by the AI SHODAN.
12. **Chrono Cross** — score 490/1000
   The 1999 parallel-worlds follow-up to Chrono Trigger, celebrated for Yasunori Mitsuda's soundtrack.
13. **Breath of Fire III** — score 490/1000
   Capcom's 1997 PlayStation RPG following Ryu, a boy who can transform into a dragon.
14. **Baldur's Gate** — score 490/1000
   BioWare's 1998 Dungeons & Dragons adventure along the Sword Coast that revived Western computer RPGs.
15. **Final Fantasy VI** — score 490/1000
   Square's 1994 16-bit ensemble drama with opera scenes and Kefka, one of gaming's most memorable villains.
16. **Suikoden II** — score 425/1000
   Konami's 1998 war story with 108 recruitable Stars of Destiny, a long-standing cult favourite.
17. **Diablo** — score 425/1000
   Blizzard's 1996 gothic dungeon crawler that defined the click-to-loot action RPG.
18. **The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall** — score 425/1000
   Bethesda's 1996 procedurally generated RPG with a game world roughly the size of Great Britain.
19. **Planescape: Torment** — score 350/1000
   Black Isle's 1999 philosophical RPG about an immortal amnesiac, built around dialogue rather than combat.
20. **Final Fantasy VIII** — score 350/1000
   Square's 1999 PlayStation follow-up with realistic characters, the Junction system and the card game Triple Triad.
21. **Ultima VII: The Black Gate** — score 350/1000
   Origin's 1992 open-world RPG set in a living Britannia, a landmark of simulated detail.
22. **Grandia** — score 350/1000
   Game Arts' 1997 coming-of-age adventure with a much-copied timeline-based battle system.
23. **Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals** — score 350/1000
   Neverland's 1995 SNES RPG known for its puzzle-filled dungeons and the 100-floor Ancient Cave.
24. **Pokemon Red and Blue** — score 350/1000
   Game Freak's 1996 Game Boy monster-collecting RPGs that launched the biggest media franchise in the world.
25. **Star Ocean: The Second Story** — score 264/1000
   Tri-Ace's 1998 sci-fi fantasy action RPG with dual protagonists and dozens of endings.
26. **Might and Magic VI** — score 264/1000
   New World Computing's 1998 first-person party RPG with a vast open world and the Mandate of Heaven story.
27. **Fallout 2** — score 264/1000
   The 1998 sequel that greatly expanded the wasteland with more towns, factions and freedom.
28. **EarthBound** — score 264/1000
   Shigesato Itoi's 1994 SNES cult classic, a quirky suburban RPG that parodies Americana.
29. **Super Mario RPG** — score 264/1000
   The 1996 Square and Nintendo collaboration that gave Mario timed-hit turn-based battles.
30. **Dragon Quest V** — score 264/1000
   Enix's 1992 generational saga that follows one hero from childhood to fatherhood and lets you recruit monsters.
31. **Secret of Mana** — score 163/1000
   Square's 1993 real-time action RPG with ring menus and three-player co-op on the Super NES.
32. **Pokemon Gold and Silver** — score 0/1000
   The 1999 Game Boy Color sequels that added a day-night clock, breeding and a second region after the credits.

Tags: games, 90s, rpg, retro