25 Best PS3 RPGs of All Time

You fled Ferelden with your family and the shirts on your backs.

After being ambushed by Darkspawn and being overwhelmed it looked like it was all for nothing when suddenly a figure out of legend dropped in to save you and your family.

After you make it to Kirkwall as refugees you must try to overcome your status as outsiders and make a living and hopefully thrive in your new home.

The sequel to the breakout hit Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II is a more intimate story about the Hawk family, struggling to survive in a foreign land after having their comfortable life destroyed by the Darkspawn army.

A lot of improvements were made to the systems running the game, including, a better graphics engine, and a streamlined interface for combat.

The game itself has gone from a massive continent-spanning adventure to pull together an army to defeat an Archfiend to a small island riddled with intrigue, apostate mages, heavy-handed Templars, and a reputation for taking in refugees only to chew them up and spit them out.

This game is all about character development and keeping you invested in the story because you want to know what will happen to the plucky underdog and his friends, soldiering on despite the odds being stacked against them.

You play as a young apprentice.

Your master has better things to do than deal with you underfoot, so they have tasked you with defending Eternia Crystals from rampaging monsters.

Together with your fellow apprentices you must keep the crystals safe and learn as much as you can from the rigors of combat.

Dungeon Defenders is a hybrid style tower defense game.

What makes this game unique is the great blend of RPG elements, tower defense, and 3rd person action.

With four different character classes that persist over your account and separate character pools for ranked and casual play, there is a ton of content for you to enjoy.

And additionally, with multiplayer options, you and your friends can perfect your strategy and dominate the monsters with your skills.

The world is on the brink of disaster.

An ancient enemy stirs in the depths of the earth and is threatening to devour every living thing.

The only thing standing between the voracious hunger of the Archfiend and its army of Darkspawn is a group of warriors known as the Grey Wardens.

Dragon Age: Origins started the franchise and it still regarded as one of Bioware’s best RPGs they have ever made.

The game has people who are still playing even after seeing everything the game has to offer.

The story is epic in scope without overshadowing the cast of characters, moreover, the depth of the combat has yet to be topped by similar RPGs.

With your choice of a combination of fantasy races and classes to mix and max, as well of a huge chunk of choices that affect the final outcome of the game, there are hundreds of hours to enjoy and new things to discover each playthrough.

You are a “Fateless One” resurrected by a gnomish scientist, and before you are able to find out why, the lab is attacked and the gnome runs, leaving you to find out what your purpose is on your own.

There is a war raging, and you, without your memories of your past life have to make your way in a world at conflict, all the while trying to survive, and find your own path, now that you are no longer a part of fate’s weave.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a great mashup of Skyrim and the Fable series.

With a deep story written by famed sci-fi and fantasy writer R.A. Salvatore, the game has a lot to offer.

It features a simple battle system that gains depth as you level.

You can put points in three skill trees that branch out significantly as you progress.

Since the studio responsible for the game has shuttered its doors, it’s a shame that there will probably be no sequel, so that makes it a unique RPG that you need to play if you get the chance.

In the land of Drangleic, the undead curse is slowly consuming the citizens, and the royalty has collapsed.

With fragments of Manus skulking in unseen corners, seeking to bring about the Abyss, the chosen undead must seek what power they can to become strong enough to re-ignite the kiln of the first flame and keep the age of fire from waning completely.

To accomplish this goal you must seek out the crown of the Iron King, and learn what caused his kingdom to fall to madness.

Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King is a DLC expansion to Dark Souls II and adds a new section of Drangleic to explore and a new mystery to uncover.

With this new section to explore there will be new enemies and 3 terrifying new bosses to battle, moreover, there are new spells, weapons, and armor to collect.

It’s been lauded as one of the hardest additions to Dark Souls II and if you love the Souls series because of its high level of challenge, you’ll definitely want to check out this DLC.

Continuing your quest to gain power and understanding about the fall of Drangleic you must journey to another forgotten part of the kingdom and face even more daunting foes.

Deep underground there is a lost city, bathed in poison.

Another fragment of Manus has left its mark on this place, but to what ends is for you to discover.

This is another DLC to Dark Souls II, adding another area to explore and history to discover.

Dark Souls II: Crown of the Sunken King is like Blight Town on steroids, and any Souls veteran knows to quake in fear at the mention of that fell place.

There’s new armor, weapons, and spells to grab and 5 extra bosses to pit your dodge rolling skills against.

More Dark Souls and more bosses equal more fun to those brave enough to face the challenge.

Polka has a gift that is slowly killing her.

Magic is a disease in her world, the dream of Chopin, and it makes her a pariah to a society that believes magic is contagious.

Polka wants to do something the ensure her life has meaning before the end, and she does so by joining a group who is investigating a strange increase in mining activity that threatens to destroy a forest.

Along the way, they discover an even deeper plot that could destroy the entire world.

Eternal Sonata is a truly unique experience even for a JRPG, a genre that’s renowned for quirky and crazy stories.

It’s set in the dying dream of famous composer Chopin and deals with a philosophical look that spans politics, rebellion, and escapism.

The gameplay is centered around a traditional RPG turn-based battle system blended with an action-oriented phase after an initial tactical phase.

With an engrossing narrative and clever battle mechanics, Eternal Sonata is a game well worth picking up.

Logix Fiscario and Escha Malier are two newly minted alchemists, hired to help the Colseit R&D to gain access to a coveted ancient ruin that floats just outside the city.

Together they vow to do what they can to gain access to the floating ruin and bring prosperity and glory to the Colseit R&D division.

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is a fun character-driven RPG with central mechanics based on creating and refining items, all to create something to explore the ruins and ultimately learn more about the characters in Colsiet.

With an addictive gameplay loop and compelling personal narrative, this part of the Atelier franchise is a worthy addition and has been enjoyed by fans of JRPGs for years.

Welcome to the land of Hydeland.

It is a land filled with hidden ruins, ancient history, and dangerous monsters.

A relic, thought to be able to control ancient dragons will decide the fate of your homeland, moreover, it is up to you and your band of trusty adventurers to locate it before an evil cabal of mages can use it to upend the current monarchy, and subjugate its people.

Dragon’s Crown is a gorgeously animated 2D brawler/RPG hybrid.

Games of this type aren’t common anymore and that makes it stand out.

You can create up to six characters to journey through Hydeland, exploring the ruins, snatching loot and learning more about the land.

It also features online, and couch co-op multiplayer so you can go looting with your friends.

The art style and simple gameplay make this a fun little outing that you can take on in bite-sized chunks or marathon and the voice of the narrator is the audio equivalent of melted butter.

It’s fun, fast-paced and surprisingly deep.

You play as The Courier, a post-apocalyptic delivery man who was tasked by The Mojave Express with delivering something called “The Platinum Chip” to the remains of New Vegas.

Before you can get there however you were ambushed by a checked jacket-wearing palooka named Benny.

You get a bullet to the head for your trouble, and after waking up in the local doctor’s office you vow to find out why you were ambushed, and get revenge for the botched lead lobotomy.

It’s time to put that punk Benny on ice, you dig?

Fallout: New Vegas is arguably one of the most beloved entries in the Fallout franchise, and for good reason.

The story and its branching paths give the game immense replayability.

The characters are well thought out and even the NPCs have a lot of life to them.

The conflict raging across the Mojave between multiple factions gives you plenty to do and lots to discover.

The game also sports a great sense of humor.

It’s not all doom and gloom out there at the end of civilization as we know it.

Welcome to the city of Arland, a city that is being industrialized, and also a city that uses technology that was salvaged from an ancient civilization.

You play as Rorolina Frixell, forced to work for a master alchemist Astrid Zexis to pay off a debt her parents owe.

One day, Sterkenburg Cranach, a knight of Arland, comes to the workshop and informs Rorona that the shop will be shut down unless she is able to prove that it can function in the city’s economy.

It’s up to you to pass 12 exams and improve your reputation with the citizens of Arland, or lose your livelihood.

Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland is a mashup of storytelling and game mechanics.

It has traditional RPG elements, a crafting system, and visual novel storytelling.

It all adds up to a fun personal story about a girl making connections with her community and struggling to thrive and survive in a swiftly changing city.

Between the combat, the personal story, and the addictive crafting elements, you’ll have a game that will suck you in and keep you invested.

Six people are drawn together by destiny.

In the land of Cocoon, a highly advanced, isolationist society is rounding up civilians by the trainload because an unknown number of them were exposed to a foreign entity, a Pulse l’Cie.

The six are all tied to the incident and will be drawn into a plot that holds the lives of every citizen of Cocoon in the balance.

Will you be able to serve your purpose and save the world?

Final Fantasy XIII is a standout among the series.

It took a lot of departures from the usual formula.

The first big change was the battle system.

Instead of picking from a menu each turn, the battles take place in a semi-real time system where moment to moment actions are handled automatically, but you can change the roles of your party by changing their Paradigm, a preset move list that can see you concentrate on DPS, defense or support.

The story is also involved, which is expected of a Final Fantasy game.

The characters are all well thought out and each has a compelling part to play in the plot and it’s fun to watch them interact together.

When you combine all that with the amazing graphics and you get hours of fun that are a feast to the eyes and a joy to play.

You are New Kid, a recent transplant to South Park Colorado who moved there with your parents to evade his shadowy past.

You are quickly drawn into a conflict that will take you from space, Canada and the bowels of terror.

Do you have what it takes to take the Stick of Truth, and save South Park from the forces of evil?

South Park: The Stick of Truth is a fairly traditional style RPG set in the popular cartoon series South Park.

Unlike most South Park games, however, this one was written by the comedy duo responsible for the TV series.

Not only is this game accessible it’s also hilarious.

It’s loaded with nods to the series and has that classic sparkling with Matt and Trey are famous for.

Even if you aren’t caught up with the series it’s still funny and takes shots at the tropes of RPGs while also being a tightly designed one on top of it.

You take control of Rean Schwarzer and his fellow cadets of “Class VII” from Thors Military academy.

It is an experimental class made up of the Upper and lower class of the Ebronian Empire.

Its purpose is to observe the growing hostilities between the nobility and the working class, to better understand the true nature of the empire and hopefully stop a civil war before it starts.

With a deep story filled with compelling characters and an enjoyable combat system that rewards exploring the relationships with your classmates, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a great game that will keep you interested from beginning to end.

The combat features a tactical link system that allows you to chain attacks with your allies.

As your relationships deepen and these links level up, you’ll be able to increase the potency of these shared attacks.

This allows for a depth of strategy not found in most traditional RPGs.

If you like a good story and rich combat you’ll definitely enjoy this game.

In the land of Ashan, you take control of one of five lost children whose lives are shattered by a mysterious Demon Lord, who had devised a mad scheme to use a powerful artifact known as the Blade of Binding to open the gates to the demon world of Sheogh and drown Ashan in chaos.

Will you be able to unravel this plot and save the world from demonic incursion?

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is a turn-based strategy RPG that has a special blend of tactical, puzzle and RPG systems.

With a straightforward accessible story and fun gameplay, you explore maps, fight enemies in grid-based strategy combat and learn how to stop the oncoming demon hoard from taking over the world.

Follow your favorite heroes’ story, learn about them and their role in the conspiracy and lose yourself in hours of side quests and level up to be the most powerful hero in Ashan.

You are Oliver, a resident of Motorville.

While trying out a new vehicle Oliver almost drowns but is saved by his mother Allie.

Unfortunately, she soon dies from heart problems after the rescue.

While mourning his mother’s death his doll, comes to life and reveals itself to be a fairy named Drippy, who tells Oliver that he is from another world.

Oliver sets out with Drippy to travel to the other world in hopes of somehow finding a way to rescue his mother.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is an RPG that combines traditional turn-based combat with the familiar system.

You can capture monsters and have them fight alongside your party members.

You can level up these familiars using treats and equip them with specific items to increase their effectiveness.

With its surprisingly deep combat system and its cutscenes animated by famed Studio Ghibli, there’s a beautifully rendered world to explore.

Sanctuary, a world where demons and angels exist and have been influencing mankind since before recorded history.

A secret war has been raging for a long time to protect existence from Diablo, the most powerful demon in existence.

It’s been trying to claw its way into the material plane for centuries and has nearly accomplished its goal twice.

While many believe the menace of Diablo has been taken care of, Deckard Kain has his doubts.

His adopted daughter Leah and Deckard enlist your help to investigate the signs of coming doom, and hope to finally eradicate the threat of Diablo and its ilk forever.

Diablo III is a continuation of Blizzard’s hit franchise and has made a lot of refinements to the formula.

The console has a streamlined interface and has simplified leveling to make this the most accessible entry yet.

With multiple skills to unlock, character classes to play, and mountains of sweet loot to gather there’s a multitude of reasons to keep playing and perfecting your build.

The maps are all procedurally generated, so no playthrough is exactly alike, and it’s even more fun to play with friends.

Get your buddies together and dive into the dungeons.

Grab a mountain of loot and show Diablo who’s boss.

Ferelden, one of several countries in the world of Thedas is facing an ancient disaster.

Every few hundred years, the Darkspawn swarm the world in a movement known as the Blight.

Thedas has relied upon the Grey Wardens to drive the Darkspawn back.

The fifth blight is on its way, and it is time for the Grey Wardens to assemble again, but will they be strong enough to face this threat, or will this be the final Blight that finally ends life on the surface for good.

Dragon Age: Origins is a spectacular western-style RPG from Bioware and launched the popular franchise.

Choose between a combination of races and classes to determine your character’s origin story, and how your character is treated by every NPC in the game.

The world of Thedas is rich and full of history and adds a sense of realism to the events.

The gameplay is also determined by how close you become to your party members.

Most importantly every decision you make has an impact on the ending of the story and these world-shaking choices will follow you on to the sequels.

With a game world and characters so well developed, and a combat system that rewards strategic thinking, it’s hard not to recommend it to people who enjoy RPGs.

You awake in a prison cell, desiccated and alone when the sound of a body dropping to the floor of your cell stirs you from your reverie.

You look up to see a knight, clad in plate mail, motioning you to a key.

He’s freed you from your cell, but to what end?

You are surrounded by Hollow, former humans cursed with undeath.

Will you free yourself from your prison and attempt to reverse the curse that is slowly turning your mind to mush, or will you give up and succumb.

It’s up to you change your fortunes.

Dark Souls is the first game in the cult hit series.

The game is well known for its challenging combat, unique storytelling, rewarding exploration, and deep lore.

The world of Lordran is beautiful in a bleak empty kind of way, and while you will run into other people, they aren’t always friendly, and all seem to be close to losing their minds.

The real claim to fame for this game are the boss fights.

With huge, well-detailed foes, this game uses all its tightly designed mechanics to really push the player to new heights of skill.

One crushing defeat after another will either see you get into the zone, or rage quit.

It’s an acquired taste, but once you feel the thrill of victory, you won’t look at games the same way again.

Drangleic, a land shrouded in mystery, sings a siren song to people like you.

The cursed undead, doomed to live and die until their minds atrophy, gather in Drangleic to seek a cure before the curse takes them.

Solve the mystery of the curse, cure yourself, or submit and accept defeat.

Dark Souls II is the sequel to the original Dark Souls, and it doesn’t pull any punches.

After their first outing, FromSoftware pulled out all the stops for this one.

Combat is just as challenging and rewarding as the original with expanded character building options.

The land you roam is richly detailed and the lore is just as well crafted, moreover the bosses are epic and require all your finely tuned skills to master.

Other than the big things, they’ve added some quality of life improvements to make it easier to play with a friend to get past the boss fights, or survive exploring the dangerous world of Drangleic.

In ancient times, Boletaria was attacked by a being called the Old One due to the abuse of forbidden Soul Art magic, with the world being almost lost in a magical fog filled with soul-eating demons.

The Old One was eventually lulled into slumber, saving Boletaria.

Boletaria’s current ruler King Allant has restored Soul Arts and has awoken the Old One and its demon army within the fog.

Boletaria is now plagued by demons and soulless humans.

Demon’s Souls is the first game that the team who created Dark Souls developed, and the combat in this is just as difficult as the rest of the Souls franchise.

The story is more straightforward but no less compelling, and many of the Souls series standards were set with this game, including its challenging boss fights, and deep character customization.

Many FromSoftware fans regret not playing this game because those that have say it’s one of the best iterations of the formula made.

If you are a fan of Dark Souls, you owe it to yourself to play this game if you get the chance.

You are born in a “Vault” a large self-contained fallout shelter designed to preserve humanity in the event of thermonuclear war.

You live in a relatively safe and happy reclusive community until one day, everything changes.

Your father disappeared and left you alone to face an enraged Overseer and potentially the most severe punishment that can be handed down because of your father’s transgression.

Instead of sticking around to find out, you escape to track down your father and find out why he left, and what he’s trying to accomplish in the wasteland that was important enough to abandon you without saying a word.

Fallout 3 is the first entry in the franchise made by Bethesda, and they moved the game from an isometric turn-based RPG into full 3D first-person action.

They did a great job translating the old GeRPS inspired system into their own.

One of the biggest changes was made to V.A.T.S. It now slows time to a crawl so you can target specific body parts of your enemies and as specific perks to make the system even more effective.

They also kept the tradition of a world populated by quirky NPCs who breathe life into this post-apocalyptic world.

The cherry on top is the amazing vocal performances by Liam Neeson, Malcolm McDowell, and franchise veteran Ron Pearlman.

You play Commander Sheperd, and you are desperately trying to convince the bureaucrats at the Citadel to recognize the oncoming threat of the Reapers, a highly advanced and dangerous synthetic race that seeks to wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy.

The good news is you aren’t the only one trying, but the bad news is, it’s too late.

The Reapers have come and instead of a united front, they face a disorganized group of squabbling alien races.

After a bitter defeat, Sheperd must gather together an army to repel the Reaper invasion and save all life in the Milky Way.

Mass Effect 3 is a thrilling conclusion to the mainline Mass Effect series.

The third game takes all the decisions that you’ve made throughout the previous games to determine the state of the game world and how your decisions affect your relationships with your crew.

The main combat system is still the 3rd person action you’ve come to expect with the series, but the interface has been further streamlined, making leveling easier and combat skills intuitive to use.

New enemy types have been added, moreover, interesting character interactions have been thrown in to flesh out returning party members and make the new characters compelling.

You can’t miss the end of such an iconic series.

You are in an imperial prison.

This would be dire on its own, but before you know it, you see the emperor himself, escorted by his personal retinue, The Blades, fleeing an assassination attempt by a mysterious group of robed assailants.

You happen to be occupying the cell that contains the emperor’s secret escape route.

The emperor confides in you that he knows he’s going to die, and before that prophecy comes true, he entrusts you with “The Amulet of Kings”, the key to saving not only Cyrodiil but the world itself.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is an amazing game.

The plot is intricate and enjoyable to learn as you progress through the game.

The side quests are enjoyable and add to not only the main story, but flesh out the land of Cyrodiil and the people that live there, and the NPCs themselves don’t just stand still and wait for the player to interact with them, they have their own lives and schedules.

It really makes a town come alive when you can see the people going shopping, blowing off steam at the inn or deftly picking pockets in a crowded marketplace.

Open-ended gameplay gives you the option to get as deep as you want into the lives of the citizens of Cyrodiil and the way you improve your skills allows you to customize your character build any way you want.

No playthrough will be the same, and there’s enough content to keep you finding new things every time you play.

You are Commander Sheperd.

After successfully stopping the Geth from summoning the Reapers from deep space, you are patrolling the galaxy, mopping up any pockets of resistance that might have been left behind when suddenly you are attacked.

You nobly sacrifice yourself to preserve the lives of the Normandy crew and drift lifeless into space, but that isn’t the end for you.

You are brought back to life by a shadowy organization called Cerberus.

With a combination of genetic revivification and cybernetics at your disposal, as well as an improved version of the Normandy.

Cerberus wants you to investigate a rash of disappearing human colonies and sightings of a new alien race.

Cerberus thinks these events may be connected to the Reapers, and Sheperd has reason to think they are right since he knows for certain that they are still coming, with or without a back door into the galaxy.

Mass Effect 2 is the sequel to the original Mass Effect, and it took great strides toward making the franchise more inviting to new players without sacrificing the science fiction story that was set up in the original.

The old equipment management system and skill menus were revamped to make it easier for you and your teammates to use their special abilities in combat.

Planet exploration is also handled by probes from orbit instead of having to pilot the polarizing Mako tank on the surface.

This entry also has some of the biggest fan-favorite characters, like Mordin Solus, Thane Krios and the fiery biotic warrior Jack.

The game is nearly perfect and keeps all the things that made the original amazing.

There’s a great cast of characters and compelling narrative to keep you engaged, and the combat is fast-paced and easy to understand.

If you haven’t played this yet, you should do yourself a favor and pick it up.