Defining RPGs on the PS3 is much more difficult than in previous generations. It seems almost every game has what can be described as, at the very least “RPG elements.” So what constitutes an RPG now? Traditionally an RPG was turn-based and tactical with a progression system, but turn-based games have become a rarity, and those are now mostly referred to as a JRPG. Unfortunately defining RPG is arbitrary, but for this list they will be considered when they are a primary factor in gameplay and not just any game that features them as elements. Action RPGs are a huge part of the genre’s progression but must feature these primary systems to be considered;
Significant leveling/progression
Gear that changes statistics
The game would be essentially impossible to finish without any of the above
The best PlayStation 3 RPGs:
Honorable Mentions
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
The Legend of Heroes games take a chapter from the Persona series, focusing on a group of school-aged heroes where the missions are just as important as the social life at school. The relationships forged in class activities serves as a direct tactical advantage or disadvantage in battle. The encounters are what makes this game great, where players can link up attacks for big damage (the links determined by their relationships). Attacks are varied and strategic, where only certain attacks, many times by only certain characters will inflict big damage.
Child of Light
A terrific battle system (that unfortunately starts to wear thin due to repetitiveness towards the end) is only a small part of why Child of Light is a great RPG. A throwback to a bygone era, Child of Light is on both a time-based and turn-based system. If forces the player to choose actions that weigh risk vs. reward. Party members also also have elemental attacks, which the further in the game you get, the more necessary they are to use. The presentation is a beautiful animated style, one that will age well. The storytelling is minimal, and honestly it rather rudimentary, luckily even when skipping through the “cutscenes” you’ll get the gist.
Persona 5
Primarily a PS4 release, Persona 5 was still released for the PS3. It didn’t sell nearly as well, and of course it didn’t look quite as good (although still looks incredible due to the stunning art design). It’s the best version of Persona yet, the most stylized and content rich of the bunch. Just finishing the game will take 100 hours. Unlike many of the games on this list, Persona 5 “personifies” the classic JRPG, a rarity in this day and age. The only reason this game isn’t higher on the list is due to it’s status as a late, secondhand release on the PS3.
Diablo III
Similar to Persona 5, the PS3 isn’t the best way to play Diablo III. It’s perfectly playable, of course, but the best version it is not. That said, it is one of the best selling PC games of all-time for a reason. It’s the quintessential hack and slash RPG franchise, and Diablo III is the best version of it. With randomized dungeons and more variation like runes and loot, it created a different experience for everyone. However the lack on offline play was annoying for some, another mark against the PS3 version.
Tales of Vesperia
Many games of this generation learned a valuable lesson, superb art design will age well. Vesperia will do exactly that as it looks like a cartoon come to life. It’s bright and vibrant and encapsulates the ambiance of the game. It’s fantasy, and you’d think nothing else by looking at it. Vesperia has an intricate and original battle system. Constrained to a limited field with enemies, you can run around freely, picking attack or defense types from a menu but performing them in real-time. At first, and with fast enemies there are a lot of hack and slashing without making contact, but after awhile, it becomes second nature. Because of the limited battlefield, the running and jumping because a vital tactic to avoid enemy attacks. These battles never feel monotonous because of this and are one of the biggest reasons Vesperia is on this list.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Inquisition is a stuck between two eras of western RPGs. It fancies itself as a true action RPG, but the “action” is rudimentary. The other primary gameplay option is tactical mode which, when used sparingly, especially when needing to give commands to other party members is nice but is too slow and cumbersome to play that way the entire campaign. The typical Bioware storytelling and branching conversations are great, as are many of the characterst, but it does boil down to “the chosen one” scenario with nary a twist. Mostly, it's the constant exploration that more often than not ends with your death at the hands of enemies you were never meant to encounter.
Mass Effect
The first Mass Effect did a terrific job of setting up the world and characters that are part of a series that would go on to become one of if not the greatest game trilogies of all-time. While the gameplay was good, it was a slower, more methodical and tactical approach compared to its successors. In the truest sense of the word, it is much more RPG, but it doesn't feel right, and is feels even less so in retrospect.less outside of the controls, the plot was fairly straightforward here, and Shepard, the protagonist wasn't the interesting character that he would become to be, yet. The first Mass Effect is still a good game, but it pales in comparison to the sequels.
Final Fantasy XIII
Despite gorgeous graphics and a smooth turn-based battle system and a badass female protagonist, Final Fantasy XIII receives some knocks for its linearity and convoluted story. Both are fair criticisms, especially the story because the false pretense of maturity is superceded by several over exaggerated characters. The linearity issue is overblown, especially for the narrative that FF XIII is trying to tell. One of the biggest problems with open world games is that even when the narrative dictates a quick action it doesn't (usually anyway) prevent the player from going to do a few side missions, go through a dungeon or two and then get back to the primary mission at hand. FF XIII tries to force this issue yet still allows for the grinding that JRPGs necessitate.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Star Ocean games should always be commended for their setting and world building but the storytelling has been just average the last several outings. Despite a great variety of environments as you trek through the universe, they can be hollow if not beautiful. If it weren’t for these flaws The Last Hope could be considered among the best due to its phenomenal battle system. Mostamongly done in real-time, The Last Hope improves on its predecessors’ action by adding a much needed dodge mechanic making the player feel that much more in control of the action.
Great PlayStation 3 RPGs
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Although it bankrupted the developer due to low sales, Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning was received with praise. Built in the mold of traditional Dungeons and Dragon, Amalur features an addictive feature where new items are frequent making the game hard to put down. Applying new items that improve your character among a huge, beautifully designed world (art by Spawn’s Todd McFarlane) created a sense of progression and made the controller hard to put down. Sadly this game sold poorly and put 38 Studios out of business.
Demon’s Souls
What a genre Demon’s Souls has spawned. The “souls” formula that is so prevalent now with games like the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, Nioh and Sekiro to name a few is know for it’s punishing difficulty that provides one of the most rewarding feelings in all of game when a boss is defeated after over twenty attempts. These games are not for everyone and can try your patience, but players that stick with it gain a sense of accomplishment that most single player games cannot touch. Demon’s Souls hasn’t aged particularly, and games that followed have perfected the formula (and literally every aspect of gameplay) but it will stand as a genre creator forever.
Mass Effect 3
The final entry in one of the best game trilogies didn’t quite meet expectations. It was following one of the greatest games ever made (spoiler alert) and had the unenviable task of wrapping it all up. Despite a somewhat disappointing conclusions (where multiple endings still basically ended the same way) Mass Effect 3 was critically well received. Gameplay was refined, adding a better melee attack and the recruiting system was still there, just not many new team options whereas the previous game featured some many great new characters. The third Mass Effect was great game that just couldn’t quite live up to the lofty standards of it’s predecessor.
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 completely changed the style from previous entries. It became a giant open post apocalyptic world with a first person perspective. It was grim and brown with just enough personality so as not to be completely bleak. Even with the traditional style FPS, an ability to target enemy weak points in a slowed time added that strategy edge not seen in other shooters at the time. Killing mutants or other wasteland warriors with the newest gear and attributes made for an addictive gameplay loop.
Dragon Age: Origins
Before this style of RPG with branching conversation paths began to become formulaic it was a breath of fresh air. Game long plot lines could be changed based on multiple decisions and character relationships. It adds so much extra weight to the story line that sometimes the dialog options are more important than the action RPG gameplay. Origins seems rather rudimentary compared to the newer and shinier Inquisition, but it had it’s time and place as the medieval Mass Effect.
South Park: The Stick of Truth
With the quality of the graphics and the writing worthy of the show, the gameplay could have been just awful and the overall experience would have just been fine, luckily the battle mechanics are a cross between a traditional JRPG with some tactical elements that are just on the right side of “good.” The truth is (unintentional pun) playing the game is just like watching an episode, and that’s mostly what matters and ultimately playing a South Park episode has now been realized.
Top Tier PS3 Role Playing Games
Dark Souls 2
This is where it became a genre. Extremely hard, but polished. Fewer of those “cheap” deaths but just as punishing due to smarter enemies (but damn it to hell if you still fall off of far too many ledges to your death. However, there are many instances were the difficulty isn’t rewarding as there is sometimes a penchant to just scramble to the next save point, avoiding combat altogether. There save points are far enough between that the risk versus reward The graphics, while still muddied are vastly improved. Above all else it is the gratifying feeling of accomplishment. Every encounter can spell death, surviving the trek to the boss is hard enough and the inevitable multiple attempts and final defeat of the boss is the ultimate euphoria.
Fallout 3: New Vegas
Fallout 3: New Vegas
Fallout 3 was well received, but it was bleak, humor was sparse, and when it did come to lighten up, it could feel out of place. Enter New Vegas, living in basically the same world but with a completely different atmosphere. The bleakness of the first game remains in many of the landscapes but is used as part of the self aware humor. There is just more color and interesting locales, with that new tinge of the cover always playing in the back your mind. Gameplay was also improved from its predecessor with tweaks to the shooting, making it more up to date with current shooters of the time and adding better special attacks that broke up the monotonous VATS style shooting.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
The art style of of Studio Ghibli would have been enough to set this game apart but happily the story and the gameplay do their part in making this a fantastic RPG. At this point in the consoles lifecycle, JRPGs are outnumbered and rare among the more modern takes that populate this list. It is one of the reasons that Ni No Kuni is so refreshing. It has all the positive tropes one has come to expect but still is infused with new ideas, especially a combat system that is much more modern than the traditional turn-based JRPGs. It’s the story and the art design that really set Ni No Kuni apart. It’s well told, it’s beautiful and is rather touching when it is all said and done.
The Very Best PS3 RPGs
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The PS3 version of Skyrim is not the best. It has bugs, it can crash, and while patches have done their best to address these issues, many persist. Even in the best versions of the games there are bugs. This has become part of the charm of Skyrim, and really does nothing to damage the rest of the game, which is massive. Even with antiquated combat controls, sometimes unintentionally hilarious dialog there are many simple things that it does right. The world is massive and it’s populated with fantasy’s greatest hits. You’ll battle ghouls, sorcerers and dragons. You can find a wife, you can sleep around, you are fraught with choice. This is all buoyed by tremendous detail to character attributes. It’s exactly the type of customization in an RPG that you want and you can tailor your character to be suited anyway you want. That it’s one of the top RPGs on this list despite its vast list of flaws is a testament to all of the things it does exceptionally.
Mass Effect 2
When Mass Effect 2 arrived on the PlayStation 3, the first Mass Effect wasn’t available. It didn’t matter. Ultimately there was some context lost, but a pregame backstory primer complete with some big choices helped fill in the gaps. Even without this, there are so many great conversations with recurring characters that the context is gained over time. There is so much weight with your squad when you go into missions that have consequences, it's a feeling you get from few games. The gameplay is also vastly improved from the first game, better shooting mechanics, more action based than tactical. There are still tactics, but it’s much more about taking matters into your own hands, issuing light commands to your squad mates and utilizing there special abilities when needed. It’s the construction of your party that is so important; having a tank that will eat up enemy fire and return it all the same, a sniper to shoot from a far, and a “magic” based defender to round it all out. This is where Mass Effect 2 excels; recruiting and and earning trust with your teammates is the best part of the game, and while the story isn’t completed until the third game, Mass Effect 2 has enough of a finale that it is satisfying.