Role-playing games (abbreviated as RPG's) are one of the most beloved gaming genres. Functioning as pure escapism from everyday life, they typically allow players to immerse themselves in huge fantasy worlds and be captivated by emotional and engaging narratives, populated by casts of likable, multi-dimensional characters. In a market that is currently dominated by relentless action titles and sports simulations that hardly seem to change with each yearly release, it could be argued that the RPG has become a truly niche genre that has fallen out of favour with the masses rapidly since its Western heyday in the mid-90s, where the likes of Final Fantasy and the original Pokemon games took the world by storm. The recent success of games such as Skyrim, Dark Souls, Mass Effect and selected MMO's and games with strong RPG elements, such as The Last Of Us or even Grand Theft Auto, would appear to suggest otherwise. The genre also has a strong presence in the mobile gaming market, though many of the most successful titles utilise the widely-maligned 'freemium' model dominated by microtransactions. As long as they remain viable, RPG's will continue to be made. This list will look at four hypothetical titles that, for reasons unknown, have not yet been developed, despite the fact that if done correctly, their creators would almost undoubtedly experience widespread critical and commercial success.
