Unforgettable characters, plot twists and endings that linger long afterwards: some games tell stories worthy of the greatest novels. This Top 100 gathers the retro games with the most memorable storylines, based on RomWize's reassessed scores. For each one: its current score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"At the origins of the legend, a young knight of the sky descends to the surface to save his childhood friend and confront an ancestral evil. A founding tale of the saga, it weaves romance, destiny and sacrifice with an emotion new to the series. This story of love and courage gives Zelda's roots a devastating depth."
"A mansion drifts through the centuries, every stone holding the memory of broken loves and quiet cruelties. Carried by gorgeous prose and a haunting score, this visual novel weaves fates that slowly answer one another. Tenderness meets horror here, and its closing emotion lands hard without ever cheating."
"A carefree tourist trapped on an island given over to pirates, a young man slips little by little into violence and madness. Carried by a magnetic antagonist, the tale questions the savagery lurking in everyone with a disturbing darkness. Its ambiguity and its cult villain left a mark on the open-world FPS."
"The first human admitted into a galactic elite, Commander Shepard uncovers an ancient threat looming over all life. A space opera of structuring choices, the tale blends investigation, diplomacy and moral dilemmas with rare scope. This branching epic laid the foundations of a beloved science-fiction saga."
"Sent to repair a silent mining ship, an engineer finds the crew slaughtered and turned into monsters of flesh. A masterful confined space-horror, the tale distils solitude, madness and a growing religious dread. Its oppressive atmosphere and its cursed artefact made it a classic of survival."
"In a world of ruins and ancient creatures, a young hunter bound to a mysterious dragon uncovers a buried truth about a lost civilisation. The tale blends melancholy, mystery and wonder with rare poetry. An exceedingly rare jewel of the Saturn, its twilight epic remains one of the most admired in the RPG."
"Travelling across the ages to avert an apocalypse: such is the wild premise of a tale where every era visited reveals its own dramas. Endearing characters, multiple endings and a plot chiselled by a trio of geniuses make the adventure a model of narrative elegance. Timeless, its story remains an absolute benchmark of the RPG."
"Over a single day in Shibuya, five fates intersect through a kidnapping case where any one character's smallest choice upends the others'. A choral tale of clockwork precision, it blends thriller, humour and emotion with rare virtuosity. A benchmark of the gaming novel, its writing remains a model of the genre."
"Embodying a wolf goddess, the player breathes life back into a mythic Japan smothered by darkness, divine brush in hand. Drawing on folklore and Shinto tales, the story celebrates nature, faith and the bond between gods and mortals. Of luminous poetry, this legendary epic enchants from beginning to end."
"Become a Grey Warden on the eve of a monstrous invasion, a hero must rally a divided kingdom against an ancestral scourge. A dark fantasy of weighty choices, the tale weaves political betrayals, memorable companions and moral dilemmas. This dark, adult fresco revived the ambition of the Western RPG."
"Against a backdrop of war between empires, a fallen princess leads a resistance where reasons of state, revenge and a quest for legitimacy intertwine. More political and adult than its forebears, the tale embraces a near-geopolitical scope. This narrative ambition, long debated, today wins over with its maturity and coherence."
"Witness to the murder of his family, a young Renaissance Florentine embraces the way of the Assassins to slake his revenge. Blending real history, Templar conspiracy and apprenticeship, the tale lends its hero a striking humanity. This vibrant fresco, carried by an unforgettable Ezio, redefined the narrative ambition of the series."
"At the heart of a zombie apocalypse, a man with a murky past watches over a little girl he learns to protect as his own. A choice-driven tale of rare emotional force, it makes human relationships, not the undead, its true stakes. Its harrowing ending redefined what a narrative game could be."
"In a world of ruins and ancient creatures, a young hunter bound to a mysterious dragon uncovers a buried truth about a lost civilisation. The tale blends melancholy, mystery and wonder with rare poetry. An exceedingly rare jewel of the Saturn, its twilight epic remains one of the most admired in the RPG."
"Beneath the look of a card game lurks a box that remembers everything, even breaking the fourth wall. Blending hushed horror, meta-narrative and digital mystery, the writing stacks layer upon layer until you can't tell whether you or the game is dealing the cards."
"Having unleashed, out of pride, a sand that turns men into monsters, a prince must undo his mistake by rewinding time. Told like a tale from the Thousand and One Nights, the story blends adventure, romance and a lesson in humility with rare charm. Its elegant narrative frame left a lasting mark on the action-adventure."
"The scenario is a vertigo of intelligence: a meditation on free will, narrative and the illusion of choice, carried by an unforgettable Narrator. The writing, at once hilarious and profound, keeps folding back on itself to question the player."
"Four ordinary children set out to face a cosmic evil at the heart of a strange, colourful suburban America. Beneath the absurd humour and the tenderness surfaces an insidious dread, up to a finale of shattering strangeness. This unique writing, funny and deeply moving, made the game a beloved cult object."
"On the brink of defeat, the thunder god sends his visions into the past to rewrite the story of a fatal tournament. Surprisingly polished for a fighting game, the tale revisits the saga's mythology between fate, sacrifice and the war of realms. Its cinematic story mode redefined the narrative ambitions of the genre."
"At the heart of a zombie apocalypse, a man with a murky past watches over a little girl he learns to protect as his own. A choice-driven tale of rare emotional force, it makes human relationships, not the undead, its true stakes. Its harrowing ending redefined what a narrative game could be."
