The teenage years can often be filled with angst as hormones are flying all over the place. It’s probably a good reason why the early 2000s were filled with “dark” takes on beloved franchises. What could be cooler than Sonic getting a gun via his clone?
It’s games like Shadow the Hedgehog that pushed the limits in this time period for both Teen and Mature-rated games. Since then, Teen games in particular have mellowed out to be less overly dramatic and dark for the sake of being edgy. These examples may have darker sides too, but they are all excellent. Only one game per series was selected for the sake of variety.
8 Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
This game broke new ground for the series and the video game industry as a whole. It is part of the reason why Metroidvanias exist along with Super Metroid. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is just that game but with RPG elements.
After this, the entire Castlevania series went the Metroidvania route and they are all compelling. It’s hard to ignore the game that helped popularize an entire genre and it is also the most widely available across several consoles.
7 Dragon Quest 11: Echoes Of An Elusive Age
Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age is the latest game in the Dragon Quest franchise and is another RPG that is easily accessible across multiple platforms. Players assume the role of the nameless Luminary in his journey to help stop an evil darkness from returning.
It is a cliché RPG setup and the gameplay is still a bit behind the times of modern turn-based games. That’s part of the reason why this remains so beloved even though it hasn’t taken many evolutionary swings. It is a modern old-school RPG that is filled with literally hundreds of hours of content to enjoy.
6 Dark Cloud 2
Dark Cloud 2 is the second and final game in this short-lived series from Level-5. The original game had a unique concept that saw the hero rebuild a society based on capsules found in the dungeons. This sequel took that concept and grew it.
Players could find schematics for buildings or trapped NPCs and then use those things to create new villages. There was some time travel involved in the plot as well. That is surface-level stuff but there is so much more jam-packed into this action RPG.
5 Final Fantasy 7
From the PS1 onward, most games in this series are rated T for Teen. There are so many great ones to highlight but Final Fantasy 7 always seems to stick out. It, unlike most Dragon Quest games, took a huge leap for the Final Fantasy series.
The 3D graphics, the bigger world, the more mature story, the linked cutscenes, and so much more. It is seemingly impossible to think Square Enix could make a mainline entry more popular than this. Whether one plays the original or jumps into the remake, they are in for a good time.
4 Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic expanded the universe by going backward to a time when both Jedi and Sith ran amok. Set thousands of years before the movies, players got to create a character and form their own story.
Would they be a Jedi and protect the galaxy or would they be a complicated Sith Lord? Players could be other classes as well but Jedi/Sith were the focus. There were so many choices in the gameplay mechanics and in the story that players were compelled to replay multiple times.
3 Suikoden 2
Suikoden 2 is a game that doesn’t get discussed as often as it should among its contemporaries on PS1 like Final Fantasy 7. It may look like a SNES RPG that got ported to the console but it is so much more than its graphics. This is a huge game with a complicated system of mechanics.
The main character is one of a hundred-plus recruitable characters in the game who is following a destined path laid out by the stars. Build an army, stack your fort full of supplies, and try to take on an oppressive empire.
2 Valkyria Chronicles
This game changed the way players interacted with tactical RPGs. Typically, most tactical RPGs had players interact with characters on a tiled series of squares on each map. Final Fantasy Tactics is one example and the gold standard for the genre.
Instead, Valkyria Chronicles allowed players to physically move their character on each map and also allowed players to manually aim their guns at enemies. This made battlefields feel more alive. The watercolor-inspired art style also helped make it stand out on the PS3.
1 Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicles is a miracle on the Wii because of how big it is. It is without a doubt the biggest RPG on the console let alone the biggest world in any genre. It runs well too, which is perhaps the wildest part.
It has since grown into a fine Nintendo-exclusive series that is right up there with the Fire Emblem and Pokemon RPG franchises. Will Monolith Soft ever create another Xeno series like Xenosaga or is Xenoblade it until the end of time? Hopefully, Nintendo will allow them to branch out more in the future.