Highlights
- Long RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2 offer immersive gameplay and replayability, with completionist playtime exceeding 140 hours.
- Games like Persona 5 Royal and The Witcher 3 provide epic storylines that captivate players for over 100 hours, making them top contenders for the best RPGs of all time.
- Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and World of Warcraft are massive games that offer hundreds of hours of gameplay, perfect for players seeking long-term and highly engaging RPG experiences.
There is never a shortage of lengthy RPGs (role-playing games). This genre has dominated the gaming industry since being introduced in the early 1980s. Approximately forty years ago, we saw the release of retro games like Temple of Apshai, Beneath Apple Manor, and Dragonstomper. When we think of really old RPGs today, however, we usually look to Dungeons & Dragons.
10 JRPGs That Define The Genre (& Aren't Final Fantasy Games)
Final Fantasy is often considered the most influential and important JRPG series ever. However, these games shouldn't be overlooked.To some, over a hundred hours of gameplay is too long and not worth the effort. Others disagree and would relish the opportunity to delve deep into a quality RPG. Is a lengthy, convoluted RPG worth playing until the end? Here are the twenty longest RPGs of all time.
Updated October 20, 2023 by Erik Petrovich: Long RPGs can be some of the most memorable experiences for gamers, especially if they are worth getting immersed in. Though some of the longest RPGs of all time owe their length to item grinds or random chance mechanics, like World of Warcraft's loot and leveling system,. Other long RPGs, like Baldur's Gate 3, owe their length to the depth of exploration and replayability. BG3 is particularly replayable thanks to the impact that players have over their own story, and the massive variety of ways that players can take on its combat and quests. This list of the best longest RPGs ever has been updated to include these two RPGs, as well as to reorganize each listing based on the completionist playtime – it can take a really, really long time to beat some of these games to their fullest, after all.
20 Wizardry 8
- Average Playtime: 85+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 100+ Hours
While Wizardry 8 is definitely starting to show its age visually, the gameplay mechanics hidden within the game's programming still hold their own despite now being almost two decades old. In many ways this serves as a testament to the talent of the team over at Sir-Tech Canada, whose creative and often intuitive design solutions have really stood the test of time.
Fans of the Might & Magic series will feel right at home in the world of Wizardry thanks mainly to its enjoyable combat, challenging difficulty and interesting settings. It will require quite a bit of patience though; not only when it comes to learning how to play the game effectively, but also making it to the end of the story. Those with a bit of time on their hands should definitely consider spending it here.
19 Harvest Moon: Back To Nature
- Average Playtime: 80+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 120+ Hours
As a game with simulation and role-playing elements, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature was the first non-Nintendo Harvest Moon game. It contains many aspects of Harvest Moon 64, including its characters, but with new personalities and traits.
Released for the Sony PlayStation, the game revolves around farming. Despite having discarded the isometric camera, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature plays fluidly. BTN is lengthy, but by no means tedious. The graphics don't hold up as well, which is why it might be time for a new remaster/remake project.
18 Inquisitor
- Average Playtime: 90+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 120+ Hours
It will take you approximately 90 hours to beat the main story of Inquisitor. Reviews for the game were mixed, but it's undoubtedly a lengthy RPG. You will become engrossed in its gloomy story while playing as one of three character classes. Exploration is encouraged as this game is set in an enormous world.
Inquisitor's various dungeons and surface areas in forests and towns are something to marvel at. Moreover, this game contains plenty of text pages to learn what's beneath the story.
17 Rune Factory Frontier
- Average Playtime: 90+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 125+ Hours
Rune Factory 4 may have won our hearts on the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch, but another game in the series was much longer. We are, of course, referring to Rune Factory Frontier. It was released for the Nintendo Wii and is the third Rune Factory game.
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All of these games on the list don't just have good stories, they're quite long as well. Tackling these games are a perfect way to spend a weekend.Similar to Stardew Valley, you own a farm while the plot unfolds. There are four seasons during which there are different crops to plant. By and large, this is an immersive game with an intriguing plot. It's so engaging that its 90.5 hours main story won't feel that long.
16 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
- Average Playtime: 80+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 135+ Hours
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (also known as Persona 3), is surprisingly not the longest game in the series. Persona 3 was released as a PlayStation exclusive for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.
In the game, you play as an orphaned student who is attending a new high school. After transferring, you are attacked by creatures recognized as shadows. The plot thickens as you develop a persona, which proves to be powerful.
15 Persona 5 Royal
- Average Playtime: 120+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 140+ Hours
2020's Persona 5 Royal is hands down a top contender for the best RPG of all time. Its story is one that will leave you so engrossed that its length won't seem to overburden. The length of the main story is approximately 103 hours, but completionists and players who delve into the extras will take dozens of hours longer.
The Royal edition is the way to go if you're going to play this game. It contains extra characters, a new semester at the Shujin Academy, and added depth to the overall story.
14 Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Average Playtime: 95+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 140+ Hours
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a game that comes very close to replicating the tabletop formula of Dungeons and Dragons. It has an extremely complex combat system involving elemental interactions and many layers to gaining an advantage over groups of foes, and the length of the main story (let alone the huge number of side quests) feels about as epic as a DnD campaign.
While it's possible to speed run the game and beat it in less than 24 hours total, most players end up taking their time through the fully narrated story to explore every facet of the world of Rivellon.
13 Pathfinder: Kingmaker
- Average Playtime: 75+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 180+ Hours
This game is available on Steam as part of the Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition. Set in the Pathfinder universe, this is a game inspired by hit RPGs like Fallout 2 and Baldur's Gate. Set out on a customizable journey where you must take over the Stolen Lands.
It takes approximately 82 and a half hours to beat the main story of Pathfinder: Kingmaker, so don't expect this to be a short-lived adventure. The game contains numerous battles in the harshness of the wilderness.
12 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Average Playtime: 95+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 180+ Hours
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the most recent entry in the renowned adventure series from Nintendo, has been hailed as a crowning achievement for the company. It's a Zelda title to be certain, but it breaks away from many conventions of the series. It turns Zelda into an open-world survival RPG rather than a linear story-driven one and offers an unbelievable number of quests, customizations, and collectibles for players to complete.
Many fans consider it to be one of the best open-world games of all time, despite it being Nintendo's first major foray into the genre. It takes most players a little over 50 hours to complete the main story of Breath of the Wild alone. When factoring in side quests, exploration, and other activities in the game that most players are bound to take on, the average playtime goes well over 100 hours – it's a completely different story when one factors in Korok Seed collection, too.
11 The Witcher 3
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- Average Playtime: 100+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 180+ Hours
The Witcher 3 is the crown jewel of CD Projekt Red's well-known Witcher series. It completes the story of Geralt of Rivia and gives the franchise a much more colorful and vibrant aesthetic to complement the world's blend of high fantasy and nightmarish fairytales. Games in The Witcher franchise are typically longer than other RPGs and offer many in-game systems to keep players engaged, and The Witcher 3 turned all of that up to 11.
The game is fully voice acted and features incredibly deep lore for almost every aspect of the world. It takes most players more than 100 hours to complete the main quest of The Witcher 3 while also completing some side quests along the way, and completionists often have hundreds and hundreds of hours logged.
10 Baldur's Gate 3
- Average Playtime: 80+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 200+ Hours
Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 is a monumental game, one that has been in the making for close to a decade, and one that sought to reclaim the legendary status of the original Baldur's Gate series. Based on official Dungeons and Dragons lore, Baldur's Gate 3 is just as much of a player-driven, surprising and imaginative experience as the tabletop game.
Part of what makes Baldur's Gate 3 one of the longest RPGs ever made is the impressive reactivity and choice-driven progression. Quests will end in completely different ways based on what players do, what they said in a dialogue check, and core parts of the story and world will completely change based on what players choose at pivotal moments. The replayability factor of BG3 is insane, and especially thorough players will find themselves spending way more than 200 hours in this immersive, permutation-filled world.
9 Record Of Agarest War
- Average Playtime: 75+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 220+ Hours
The team at Idea Factory have a strong track record when it comes to delivering high quality strategy RPGs and Record of Agarest War is more of the same. It certainly has its flaws, but its in depth character development options and intuitive combat system make it very easy to look past them.
The game features a compelling story and enough difficulty settings to provide just the right level of challenge to suit every player. Given that a full playthough can very easily push past the 100 hour mark, the new game+ mode will probably be too big an ask for most players. The standard version of the game is definitely worth a look though.
8 Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius
The Final Fantasy series is recognized for its engaging stories and RPG elements. Although it's not the series with the longest games, there are outliers. Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius is the longest Final Fantasy game period.
Completing the main story of Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius takes players, on average, a whopping 220 hours! This mobile game cannot be beaten in one sitting. It will take over a week if you play 24-hour straight sessions — which is impossible. Quit while ahead or spend the next few months trying to finish this behemoth.
7 SD Gundam G Generation Genesis
- Average Playtime: 135+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 250+ Hours
Fans of Mech games should already have a pretty good idea of what they're getting with SD Gundam G Generation Genesis as it's very much a case of more of the same. Sure, there are some visual improvements and gameplay tweaks here and there, but, for the most part, it's effectively just an updated version of the previous Gundam title.
Apparently, EA aren't the only ones who enjoy churning out the same game year after year!
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Video games have gotten creative with the mecha & giant robot genre, whether it’s through creating original content or adapting popular anime.Whether or not this is a 'good' game is a matter for some serious debate as there are a lot of divisive mechanics and design choices found throughout it. Regardless of how one feels about the title though there can be no disputing that it offers great value for money. Clocking in at over 100 hours, it's one of the longest video games ever made.
6 Dragon Warrior VII
- Average Playtime: 135+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 260+ Hours
Whether you prefer the remake Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past or the original Dragon Warrior VII, both are exceptionally long. A single completion could take hundreds of hours, but the average player does it in fewer hours.
You decide the protagonist's name as you embark on a journey as one of the game's strongest fighters. There is mystery in the plot, and one could quickly lose themselves as they delve deep into this classic RPG.
5 Kenshi
- Average Playtime: 80+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 300+ Hours
It took Chris Hunt almost 12 years to develop Kenshi with the designer carrying out the majority of the work single-handedly. The end result is a fantastic free-roaming RPG that will take more than 80 hours to complete. Thanks to its exciting gameplay though, it's possible to sink hundreds or even thousands of hours into the game without ever growing tired of it.
It can take quite a bit of time to really come to terms with the game's mechanics, but it's well worth the effort to do so. It's a title that rewards players for their patience and perseverance with the main prize on offer being fun. Rarely are RPGs this enjoyable, nor do many provide the kind of replayability that can be found here.
4 Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
- Average Playtime: 80+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 380+ Hours
The Nintendo 3DS game Monster Hunter 4 was a commercial success and one of the Monster Hunter series's strongest entries. In 2015, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was released in North America. It is an enhanced version of the original Monster Hunter 4, containing added content and more features.
The movements of the players are also more realistic, with the possibility for better vertical and lateral. As a game that takes 79 hours to beat, on average, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is extraordinarily long.
3 Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
- Average Playtime: 180+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 450+ Hours
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite features a lengthy main story, as do many of the Monster Hunter games. This game is the North American version of Monster Hunter Portable 2G. Leisurely trying to complete all the missions will take you approximately 700 hours.
However, those looking to complete the main story at an average speed will beat it in much less time. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite contains an abundance of monsters to defeat and fun missions for all playstyles.
2 Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
- Average Playtime: 80+ Hours
- 100% Completionist Playtime: 700+ Hours
That Monster Hunter World never made its way onto Nintendo consoles remains bitterly disappointing to many series fans. The blow is softened somewhat, however, by the availability of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. It might not be as impressive as its younger brother, but there's more than enough content to keep players busy for quite some time.
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With Monster Hunter: Rise set to release on the Nintendo Switch, there's never been a better time to play through Capcom's iconic franchise.With two new hunting styles added to the game, it's by far the most enjoyable version of Monster Hunter Generations available and it looks great too. There are times when it feels as though it's being held back a little by the limitations of the Switch, but these moments are few and far between and not nearly enough to soil the legacy of what is otherwise a fantastic game.
1 World of Warcraft
A titan of the MMO genre, World of Warcraft has pursued as the top MMORPG for nearly two decades. Celebrating twenty years in 2024, World of Warcraft is a game whose length is nearly impossible to encapsulate. In both Classic and Retail WoW, getting to max level alone is a task that takes anywhere from days to weeks to months. But then, once players have reached max level, there's still tons to do.
Players who want to try to complete every quest in every zone throughout every expansion should expect to spend upwards of a thousand hours in WoW. Add a few hundred more to get every collectible, if players are lucky with mount and other item drops, and another few hundred for players who want to progress endgame activities like Raids, Dungeons, and PvP.
Though the MMO formula doesn't work for everyone, it's hard to deny just how much content there is for RPG fans to take on in World of Warcraft. Even those who want to play the game completely alone will find it to be a nearly endless experience.