10 Best PS3 RPG Games of All Time

Level up your nostalgia

Milan Zagorac
9 Min Read

RPGs are a way into a new world, where we can be whoever we want to be (unless the character has already been predetermined). On the PS3, there are plenty of RPGs to choose from. Given the scale of the choice, boiling it down to the 10 best PS3 RPG games makes sense.

Here are the choices, for you to explore a new world.

1

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The famous Skyrim prisoner start, you riding on a cart. Skyrim is one of the best PS3 RPG games, and a legendary title overall.

Release: 2011
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a legendary title that Bethesda managed to keep relevant long enough for it to keep players occupied until the next Elder Scrolls release. Featuring the classic Bethesda RPG approach, Skyrim is a pleasure to explore.

Multiple quests for various factions, random encounters, and the ability to completely forge your character make the game interesting after thousands of hours. Mods make it even better, though that is not available on the PS3, unfortunately.

2

Demon’s Souls

Demon's Souls is a souls-like game, as should be expected from its title, a great PS3 RPG.

Release: 2009
Developer: FromSoftware
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Demon’s Souls might seem like it’s part of the Dark Souls series, yet it is more closely related to the King’s Field series. It is an action RPG and knowing FromSoftware, you can expect a decent challenge and a similar system you will later see in Dark Souls.

Once you die, you respawn as a soul, but you lose all the souls you collected (it’s almost identical to the hollow system from Dark Souls). There are multiple endings to the game, depending on the path you take and the decisions you make, a staple of good RPGs.

3

Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins is a great RPG on the PS3, that takes us to a new world where Darkspawn invade the upper world, also known as a Blight. You will be there to stop them.

Release: 2009
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts

Back when BioWare was allowed to make good games, Dragon Age: Origins, took the world by surprise. It is an RPG from the third-person perspective, focusing on the world of Thedas, specifically Ferelden. You are a Grey Warden, your goal is to slay the Archdemon and stop the current Blight.

On the road, you gather a party of followers, perhaps even friends and you can choose to help them or ignore them. Depending on your choices, multiple endings are available, making replayability enticing.

4

Resonance of Fate

Resonance of Fate is a great RPG game on the PS3, combining sci-fi and social commentary for a great experience.

Release: 2010
Developer: tri-Ace
Publisher: Sega

Resonance of Fate is a different RPG in a world where sword and sorcery typically dominate. Guns are not the first weapons that come to mind when you think of an RPG. Once you immerse yourself in the sci-fi atmosphere, then you notice the combination of turn-based and real-time combat.

We are set on our lovely planet, but far in the future. The environment is very polluted, and humanity is taking cover under the gigantic air purifier Basel. History is changed and people forget their past, leading to a religious state bubbled, primed to burst at the start of the game.

5

Mass Effect 2

The iconic shot at the start of Mass Effect 2, showing the Illusive Man and Miranda, at the Cerberus base overlooking the sun with two distinct colors.Mass Effect 2 is probably one of the best PS3 RPG games.

Release: 2010
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts

Mass Effect 2 is probably the best of the three main games (we don’t talk about Andromeda). It’s everyone’s favorite, mostly due to a perfectly executed story buildup. It is the perfect combination of stakes and suspense, the storm before the bigger storm.

The game has decent combat, much better than the previous game, albeit somewhat crippled by the lack of vertical movement. It offers replayability both because you can approach fights differently but also because you can choose a different path in every conversation.

6

Persona 5

Persona 5 is one of the best PS3 RPG games and this shows the main character on their way home from school.

Release: 2016
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus, Deep Silver

Persona 5 delivers an almost classic Persona experience but with modern graphics. Like most Persona titles, you are thrown into a world as a relatively casual person, at least during school hours. It is after school when the fun starts.

You build your character during the day, meaning statistics, which are then useful during night runs because that is when you explore the Metaverse. Persona 5 stands out as a great RPG, probably one of the best PS3 games, as well. (link to main PS3 article)

7

Fallout 3

Fallout 3 is Bethesda's hit post-apocalypse game, the one that started the whole RPG trend of post-apocalypse games, Skyrim in the wasteland, if you will.

Release: 2008
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Fallout 3 is unlike any previous Fallout title, due to the transition to 3D graphics. Following on the success of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda followed up with a great game in their post-apocalyptic, tongue-in-cheek series.

Fallout 3 lets you explore Washington DC in a world where radiation is one of your main problems, but also huge mutated cockroaches, beings straight out of nightmares, as well as regular humans, looking to get the upper hand. And then there you are, trying to survive.

8

Tales of Xillia

Tales of Xillia at the start of the game, with you in school, on a world where spirits get turned into energy.

Release: 2013
Developer: Namco Tales Studio
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Tales of Xillia sends us to a world where spirits can be turned into energy. We follow Jude Mathis on a quest that puts his life and that of his friends and recent acquaintances, in danger. In a world where two factions are waging war, there might be a chance for peace.

The game is a traditional RPG in the sense that there is a field or adventure map, fully rendered in 3D, which you use to explore the world and interact with characters. The battles happen on their own separate maps, incorporating real-time battle, though with limited action points.

9

Nier

Nier is an interesting RPG that gives us many choices, but primarily focuses on action. It is one of the best PS3 RPG games.

Release: 2010
Developer: Cavia
Publisher: Square Enix

Nier gives us a look into the future, a world that is beautiful, though hardly populated by beings that we would like to interact with. Our protagonist is searching for a cure for their loved one, but that quest turns out to be more challenging than one would expect.

This is an action RPG that incorporates real-time combat in a 3D world. The character is controlled from a third-person view, a standard for action RPGs, though perhaps not those from Japan. For its story and its gameplay, Nier remains a game to be replayed to this day.

10

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII is one of the best RPGs and a great PS3 RPG title.

Release: 2009/2010
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix

Final Fantasy XIII is associated with the PlayStation consoles, at least the versions from the late 1990s and onwards. In a combination of what is sci-fi and fantasy, we dive into the world of Gran Pulse, where Lightning and her companions are on a crucial quest.

You move in a 3D world, from a third-person perspective, until you get to a battle. That brings up familiar mechanics from previous legendary Final Fantasy titles, such as Active Time Battle. A combination of a great story, beautiful graphics, and familiar mechanics make FF XIII a memorable RPG.

These games are available on the original console, the PlayStation Network, or by using a PS3 emulator. While they might not be everyone’s favorites on the consoles, these are some of the best PS3 RPG games and would be a great stepping stone into a world full of amazing titles and even series.

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With over 1650 hours of Apex Legends, and 2100 of League of Legends, Milan is an avid gamer. When he's not indoors, he climbs mountains or does urban acrobatics. Add a passion for writing to the mix and you get a hopefully interesting broth.
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