The 10 Greatest Fantasy Video Games of the '90s, Ranked

August 9, 2026 - 12:46

The 1990s were a strange and wonderful time for fantasy video games. Developers were still figuring out what the genre could do, and that uncertainty led to some of the most creative, ambitious, and flat-out weird titles ever released. Before every game had to be a live service or a photorealistic open world, you had pixel art, pre-rendered backgrounds, and stories that actually made you think. If you grew up in that decade, you know the feeling of blowing dust out of a cartridge or waiting for a disc to load. These ten games defined that era, and they still hold up today.

First, there is Diablo. It came out in 1996 and basically invented the action RPG as we know it. You click, you kill, you loot, and then you do it all over again. But the atmosphere was what made it special. That gothic cathedral, the creepy music, the sense that something awful was always waiting in the dark. It was simple, but it was addictive in a way that felt almost dangerous.

Then you have Chrono Trigger. This one is pure magic. It came out in 1995 on the Super Nintendo, and it did things that no one had ever seen before. Multiple endings, time travel that actually mattered, and a combat system that made you think about where your characters stood. The soundtrack is still considered one of the best in gaming history. It is not just a great fantasy game. It is a great game, period.

Of course, you cannot talk about the 90s without mentioning The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64, it took the series from 2D to 3D and somehow made it work perfectly. The sense of scale, the music, the way you could ride a horse across a field and just feel the wind. It set the standard for action adventure games for the next two decades. People still argue about whether it or Majora's Mask is better, but that is a different list.

But the decade had more to offer. Final Fantasy VII brought cinematic storytelling to the RPG, with a world that felt both futuristic and deeply magical. It was a cultural event. People who had never touched a JRPG were suddenly talking about Cloud and Sephiroth. Then there was Baldur's Gate, which took the rules of Dungeons and Dragons and put them on a computer screen. It was unforgiving, complex, and deeply rewarding if you had the patience for it.

You also had Secret of Mana, which was a beautiful action RPG with a co-op mode that made it perfect for playing with a friend. And then there was Ultima Online, which tried to put a whole fantasy world online. It was messy, chaotic, and full of player killers, but it proved that virtual worlds could be real places.

Let us not forget Planescape: Torment. It came out in 1999 and was less about fighting and more about talking. The writing was incredible. It asked big questions about identity and death, and it did not hold your hand. It was a game for people who wanted something different.

Also on the list are The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, which was massive and buggy but showed the potential of open world fantasy, and Suikoden, a quiet little RPG with a huge cast of characters that told a surprisingly political story.

These games were not perfect. They had loading screens, awkward controls, and sometimes the graphics looked like a mess. But they had heart. They had ideas. They were not afraid to be strange or difficult. In a way, the 90s were the last time fantasy games felt truly new. Everything after that has been building on what these titles did first. If you have never played them, you are missing out on a piece of history. If you have, you know exactly why they are still talked about today.