Your personal 2009 RPG top 10 (the year of the drought, followed by flood).

As the title incline, what are your personal RPG(ish) top 10 (or the number you played) of the year 2009, the year that gave us a long RPG drought, followed by a flood, starting in September.

To make some few rules, do only include RPG games, but any kind, be it jRPG, StRPG, Action RPG or you name it. Further do only include games that you played fore the first time in 2009, they don’t have to be from 2009, but if replayed games are included, it probably be dotted whit Baldurs Gate, System Shock and other old classics, yes they are great!, but if included them, we have a personal all time top 10, and what I want to know is, what new games experience, did you have last year? That have you best memories about? And a little note of why?

Here is my list, ok its actual only a only a Top 7, doing to the former mentions drought


7: Neverwinter Night: Storm of Zehir. RPG PC.

Always been a sucker fore D&D, and fore me NVN2 is one of the best, further more if you like to play from a Bird View, the graphic is actual better that most new games. I do like the idea about the new free roaming style, but sadly, not the lack of story.



6: Neverwinter Night: Mystery of Westgate. RPG PC.

I actual like MoW over SoZ, as the story was quite good, better NPC and over more just more fun.



5: Eternal Sonata. jRPG PS3.

Really good uniquely story whit fun combat, a little to simplify game system an a little to linear story to get higher on my list.



4: Borderlands. Action RPG PC.

Diablo gone FPS, to simple some say, but I liked the game play and the humor.



3: Demon’s Soul. Action RPG PS3.

An unique game, as mixed some of the few good things about MMORPG’s whit a challenged single player game.



2: Dragon Age: Origins. RPG PC.

The game + 2 good DLC + 2 great books = A truly good experience.


1: Valkyria Chronicles. StRPG PS3.

I just felt in love whit this game, great story, unique art style, and a brilliant mix of real time and turn based game play.

In terms of totally new experiences, not much came up this year for me. My computer can't really run most of the newer stuff; even when it appears to run, it only works until the game starts progressing a bit. So it's kinda bare. Considering that RPGs of any kind other than Final Fantasy Madden are relatively rare, I doubt anyone will find a top 10 to speak of for any single year. In no order:

Dragon Age: Origins: It basically felt to me like a lite, grittier version of Baldur's Gate. It lacked the lore of the Forgotten Realms; instead creating a whole new world, but all in all a solid game. Sadly, it quickly became unplayable; my laptop is at the barest level to run it, and in combat it becomes a slideshow.

Eschalon Book 1: Yeah, it's a couple years old, but I only bought it this year. An indie game with solid mechanics and visuals, it's main drawbacks was it was too easy, and it lacked enough content for me. With a level 20 cap, I don't see hitting it. I was level 13 when I beat it, and had done everything I could find. Here's to 2010 and Book II.

King's Bounty: More a RPG-TBS hybrid, leaning more to TBS; this resurrection turned out much better than I'd expected. While gameplay is essentially similar to the original, NWC KB and Heroes of Might and Magic; it is much more heavily scripted, and ultimately entertaining. Being a veteran of these games, I fell right into it without a problem. As a bonus, it's use of a more cartoonish art style let the devs reel back the system reqs a bit, and it runs find on my laptop for the most part (it can get a bit laggy).

Batman: Arkham Asylum: Most people will probably think I'm crazy for listing this, but I'm going by a strict definition of ROLE playing. This game has you become Batman. Not play as by become. No game in my memory has ever so thoroughly captured the feel and aspect of a licensed character, much less the Batman. And not the crappy, Frank Miller-esque "Punisher in a Bat suit" that people think is Batman these days, but THE Batman. Dennis O'Neil, Knightfall, etc…

For pure atmosphere and putting the player in the role, I have found few games that can match this. For atmosphere, fewer.

Triangle Wizard: A freeware rogue-like; it's been constantly updating since it was first released. I discovered it here on these forums earlier this year. While it is a rogue-like, with simplistic graphics (it has some, unlike most) and no plot to speak of, it is still old school dungeon-crawl goodiness. The unending updates just make it better.

Beyond that, I can't think of any *new* experiences that fall under either a strict or loose definition of the term RPG. At least, not that I'd put as a top anything; I wasn't impressed with either Oblivion (despised it) or Morrowind, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 sucked, and I wasn't overly thrilled by Gothic 1 or 2 (granted, I got them in the midst of a BG run, in the midst of Q4 exhaustion, so they didn't have a fair chance). Nothing else I got either came close to a RPG, or was new.

A top 10 for one year? I think it's safe to say that most people don't play 10 RPGs (from beginning to end) in a single year.

We had the "best of 2009" poll, which kind of covered this territory already. And like JDR said, I can't come up with 10. 5 maybe. And half of those were published in 2008.

Yeah, maybe a best of 2009 including all games. In that case, not much would change for me. Ghostbusters would enter the fray, and that's about it.

Originally Posted by Anderson
We had the "best of 2009" poll, which kind of covered this territory already. And like JDR said, I can't come up with 10. 5 maybe. And half of those were published in 2008.

Well then tell us abut yours top 5 of last year, and they did not have to be made in 2009? It's really not meant to be a “top 2009", but rather about what did you spend last year playing, and what was your best game experience among those games?

Originally Posted by Phonix
Well then tell us abut yours top 5 of last year, and they did not have to be made in 2009? It's really not meant to be a “top 2009", but rather about what did you spend last year playing, and what was your best game experience among those games?

Well, okay…

1. Fallout 3. I took a while getting around to playing this game, because the post-apocalyptic setting turned me off, but I ended up loving it. I really enjoy open-world RPGs that feature a lot of exploring and freedom. Plenty of interesting sidequests. The DLC fixed the main issue I had with the game (Level capped too early). They also fixed the auto-levelling issues that dragged Oblivion down.

2. Dragon Age. I enjoyed most of it, but I felt like it wasn't paced very well, too linear, and the story wasn't all that engaging. Combat on the 360 controller was cumbersome. Still, it was a well-constructed game overall, with a lot of options to tinker with.

3. Rise of the Argonauts. Another one from 2008, I believe. Despite some framerate issues and very reduced RPG features, I enjoyed the storytelling in this game quite a bit. Combat was fun, too. I got it at a bargain price, and that always helps.

4. Two Worlds. And speaking of bargain prices helping me to enjoy a game…. This was a really bad port to console, but I enjoyed it a lot, partially because I expected so (and got it for so) little. I enjoyed the open world design, absent any auto-levelling. The dialog and voice acting, combined with the awkward character models, was an endless source of amusement.

5. Sacred 2. I didn't like this game all that much, but I ran out of options for #5. I am not a fan of these top-down hack and slash games with no story. I enjoyed the ability to explore the large world, though.

edit: I forgot Fable II, which probably says something, namely that the game was enjoyable while it lasted but left no enduring impression with me whatsoever. I continually forget that I have played it.

I guess I'd stick it at #4, though.

Not an RPG and not an adventure surprisingly my #1 of 2009 is Batman:Arkham Asylum!
(though if I was to take the word 'role playing' in its absolute literal sense then this game certainly delivers )

Originally Posted by Phonix
Well then tell us abut yours top 5 of last year, and they did not have to be made in 2009? It's really not meant to be a “top 2009", but rather about what did you spend last year playing, and what was your best game experience among those games?

Well I'm not sure of those I played during 2009, I could made some confusion with 2008 but I probably played: Avernum 1, Avernum 5 (unfinished but close), Eschalon Book 1, King's Bounty, Drakensang, Quake Live, Ultimate Doom through Doomsday (large replay but unfinished), Enemy Territory QUAKE Wars, Puzzle Quest (more than half), Majesty 2, Majesty 1 (large replay but unfinished). I think that's all, I cannot add DAO because I only started it during 2009. So I didn't play much during 2009.

My best game experience among those finished:
1 - Enemy Territory Quake Wars (my gaming chock of the year 2009)
2 - King's Bounty
3 - Majesty 2
4 - Avernum 1
5 - Drakensang
6 - Eschalon Book 1

Nice year, those 6 was great gaming experience, and 6 is a lot for just one year. Among those unfinished, Avernum 5 and the two partial replay, Ultimate Doom through Doomsday and Majesty 1, was also great play time. Avernum 5 haven't been lucky with me because I choose a wrong path that discourage me a little, then tried Avernum 1, have been caught and after to have finished it the 5 was a bit too far in past and I switch to something else.