The best fantasy games

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar is one of the most influential and innovative role-playing games (RPGs) in video game history. Released in 1985 by Richard Garriott under the Origin Systems banner, it is the fourth installment of the Ultima series and marked a significant shift in the genre of RPGs at the time. Unlike previous RPGs which revolve...

Amulets & Armor is a first-person ARPG (action RPG) with a fantasy setting. It was developed and published as shareware for DOS by United Software Artists in 1997. Amulets & Armor became freeware in 2013. Gameplay is mission-based; the player can take up quests in any order and even complete the same quests over and over.

Secret of the Silver Blades is a fantasy RPG set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons universe, developed and released by SSI Strategic Simulations Inc. in 1990 for DOS, Macintosh, Amiga and Commodore 64 systems. Secret of the Silver Blades is part of the Pool of Radiance series and uses the same "GoldBox" engine with isometric turn-based combat ...

Ghosts 'n Goblins is an iconic arcade game developed by Capcom, first released in 1985. It’s widely remembered for its challenging gameplay and its distinct horror-fantasy aesthetic. This is a faithful remake.In Ghosts 'n Goblins, players assume the role of Sir Arthur, a brave knight on a perilous quest to rescue Princess Prin-Prin, who has b...

Princess Maker 2 is a life simulation anime-style game developed by Gainax in 1993. In Princess Maker 2, the player is the father of a young princess and must tutor and raise her to the age of 18 by scheduling jobs, school classes and programming other activities. The princess is defined by attributes (strength, cooking, etc.) that will change depe...

Shadowcaster is a first-person action role-playing game developed by Raven Software and published by Origin Systems. It was released in 1993 for MS-DOS computers.In Shadowcaster, players assume the role of Kirt, a young man who discovers that he is the last of the Shadowcasters, a powerful group of shapeshifters with the ability to transform into d...

Quest for Glory III: Wages of War is an adventure/role-playing game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1992. The player takes on the role of the Hero, who has journeyed from the city of Shapeir to the savannahs and jungles of Fricana. The main plot revolves around the brewing conflict between two tribes, the Simbani and the Leopardme...

The Elder Scrolls: Arena is the first installment in the highly acclaimed Elder Scrolls series of fantasy ARPG (action role-playing games), developed and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was initially released in 1994. Arena is set in the continent of Tamriel, which later becomes the central location for all the Elder Scrolls games (Skyrim,...

Based on the cult fantasy novels by Roger Zelazny, 9 Princes in Amber is a 1985 text adventure that assumes two things: you’ve read the books, and you enjoy typing things like “look tree” and “use sword” with surgical precision. If you haven’t read the novels, good luck. The game throws you into a dense, shape-sh...

Stormlord is an abandoned DOS platform game set in a fantasy world, developed and published by Hewson Consultants in 1989 and designed by Raffaele Cecco. There was some controversy about the scantily clothed fairies in the game.

Zangband is a variant of the popular roguelike game Angband. Zangband, short for Zelazny Angband, was developed by Chris Weisiger and first released in 1994. The game features a fantasy world with diverse races, classes, and monsters. Players explore dungeons, caves, and other environments in a quest to reach the bottom level of the dungeon, d...

Champions of Krynn is a RPG released in 1990 by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and is the first game in the Dragonlance Gold Box series. It is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ruleset and set in the world of Krynn, known from the Dragonlance novels. Players create a party of up to six characters, choosing from the standard AD&am...