10 Most Under-Appreciated RPGs Ever

1. Dark Chronicle

Cast your mind back to the launch of the PS2 and you'll probably remember Dark Cloud; a RPG mixed with city-building elements that was shown off more because of ace lighting and water effects, but still had solid dungeon-crawling and a rewarding world progression.

Flash-forward just two years, and while the gaming world was enamoured with blockbuster fare like Morrowind, GTA: Vice City, Kingdom Hearts and Splinter Cell, one of the most fleshed out and pitch-perfect sequels ever, dropped right in our potential laps.

Dark Chronicle took everything about its forebear; the township management and notion of customisation twinned with exploration, and spread it all out across a massive series of environments. Graphics were made even more adorable by adopting cel-shading, we now had two protagonists, Maximillian and Monica, and combat took on a life of its own with "Inventions".

A genius, genius idea that meant taking photos of various things in the world let you create new weapons like makeshift golf clubs, miniature mechs or suped up wrenches, this key mechanic has never been replicated, and certainly never done quite so well.

Dark Chronicle sees Max and Monica restore various villages and populaces to battle the nefarious Emperor Griffin, but it's this gorgeously enjoyable mix of graphics, wondrously inventive combat, rewarding item loops and enemy designs that hands-down make it utterly essential.

Also, it's available on PS4 as a PS2 Classic. Go play.