Role-playing games, aka RPGs, are one of the most popular game genres for a reason. With character progression and customizable stats and skills, RPGs let you really sink into playing your virtual character. Some of the best franchises in gaming history have had RPG elements, from Elder Scrolls to Baldur’s Gate 3 and beyond. But not every RPG is a winner, and there hae been some truly terrible attempts, as well.
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What makes an RPG bad? It’ll somewhat depend on who you ask, but unfriendly mechanics, poorly designed grind, and an uninspiring story are some of the biggest offenses. And the 7 games on this list combine some truly terrible video game sins to land among the worst RPGs ever made. Our list is informed both by these games’ reputations with fans and their abysmal Metacritic ratings to bring together some of the most poorly designed RPG video games out there.
7. Lunar: Dragon Song
Compared to many games on this list, Lunar: Dragon Song doesn’t have quite as terrible a Metascore, coming in at 59. But fans hoping to see more from the Lunar franchise felt incredibly let down by this Nintendo DS entry in the series. As such, it has earned a bad reputation among JRPG fans as one of the worst games in recent memory.
Lunar: Dragon Song is a prequel, but it falls short of the storytelling mastery that the other games offered. It doesn’t really connect to or expand on the lore introduced in the other games. But the true sin that Lunar: Dragon Song commits lies in its mechanics. The gameplay added unnecessary and often tedious elements, including equipment randomly breaking and the inability to target specific enemies during combat. As one Reddit user put it, “Dragon Song manages to screw up pretty much every mechanic you can think of in ways that make the game worse.”
6. Dawn of Mana
Another sequel that enraged fans is Dawn of Mana, which to many felt nothing like other games in the series. It was the 8th installment in the series, arriving quickly on the heels of Children of Mana and Friends of Mana. Many say it is barely an RPG at all, as it leaves behind many of the RPG elements of prior games to focus instead on action-adventure gameplay. And that pivot did not pay off, leading to a massive stumble from JRPG juggernaut Square Enix.
Dawn of Mana is generally considered to fall short across the board, from voice acting to story to overall controls and camera options. While the graphics and music are a high point, the game earns its 57 Metascore by abandoning everything that made the prior entries in the series good.
5. Hydlide
Hydlide is one of the earlier attempts at the action RPG genre, and an early look at open-world gameplay. Though many of its mechanics went on to influence modern RPGs, the game wasn’t received very well outside of Japan. In particular, the NES port used infuriatingly repetitive background music that made it almost unplayable.
The game suffered from confusing and clunky controls, along with a terrible frame rate that leads to jerky scrolling. The visuals also fail to impress, though some of that is simply due to its time. Hydlide‘s reputation has only worsened over time, despite acknowledging what the game has done for later action RPGs. Unlike some classics, this RPG is best not revisited, as its graphics, controls, and music make it nearly unplayable for many.
4. Falling Stars
2007 RPG Falling Stars was an RPG aimed at children, with an attempt to create a robust RPG system that was friendly for younger players. Alas, the game’s mechancis were a bit too basic and may have underestimated what younger gamers are capable of. Though it didn’t receive a ton of reviews, the game’s 32 Metacritic Score is one of the lowest-rated among all RPG titles.
The game’s low scores come in large part due to the lackluster turn-based combat and flat characters. It also features several mini-games that, rather than improve upon the simple gameplay, simply add more unpleasant things to do. The game was never very popular, and from the reviews it did receive, it’s clear why it didn’t quite gain traction even with its intended audience.
3. Magus
This PS3 release comes from Black Tower and Aksys Games, and it is often considered one of the worst games to release for the platform. Magus suffers from graphics that call back to the PS2 at best, while also offering gameplay plagued with bugs and glitches. As such, it received a dreadful 32 Metascore from critics and hasn’t fared much better with players, either.
If Magus has any saving grace, it’s the fact that it is both short and easy to get through. This has led a few gamers to actually enjoy the experience, but by and large, the game’s mechanics and laughably bad dialogue make it one of the worst RPGs ever made. Even the game’s cover art leaves something to be desired, further solidifying this game’s terrible reputation.
2. Call for Heroes: Pompolic Wars
This fantasy RPG released in 2007, and it currently holds the honor of the lowest Metacritic score of all RPGs. Sitting at 25, this game’s planned Wii release was ultimately cancelled, likely due to its poor reception on PC. Though most of the games on this list have been largely lost to time, you can still grab this one on Steam for just $0.99 if you want to experience it for yourself.
Call for Heroes seems to fall short of pretty much everything you want in a good RPG. It was riddled with glitches, while also offering poor level design and confusingly complicated combat. The storyline and dialogue were also not up to snuff, so the gameplay didn’t feel worth struggling through. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this RPG also didn’t sell very well after those poor early reviews, so it has been mostly forgotten.
1. The Legend of Alon D’Ar
Critics and fans alike can’t help but bring this game up when asked about the worst RPGs of all time. The Legend of Alon D’Ar will be remembered, but sadly, not for any good reasons. This 2001 release may have a fan here and there, but by and large, its primary claim to fame is just how unfun it is.
The Legend of Alon D’Ar has a 45 aggregate rating on Metacritic, earning its low score through its lackluster quests and boring combat. Like many of the so-called worst games out there, camera angles in this one also don’t make a ton of sense, and the controls could be better. The graphics were also a miss, even for PS2-era standards, and the story isn’t doing it any favors, either. The developer, Stormfront Studios, would go on to craft successful RPGs like Neverwinter Nights and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, but this early effort was pretty clearly a miss.
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