Time Travel, the action of moving through time itself. Something that remains impossible in real world, but provided can fun gameplay mechanics and/or interesting narratives in Video Games. These are our picks for Top 10 Time Travel Video Games.
10. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Past
Newly updated and re-released by Square-Enix for the 3DS, Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Past is centered on time travel. Your personal character, along with Prince Kiefer, friend Maribel, and others, unravel the mystery of their world (which, at the opening, consists of their lonely island) by unlocking the ability to travel in time. By doing so, the heroes warp to foreign islands to rid them of evil. Once the evil presence is gone, the islands, now saved, re-appear in the present. As the characters find fragments (these are used to open up new portals to the past), they continue to rescue and restore the numerous lands they visit, all the while learning about their nefarious enemy.
~ Evan Schwab
9. Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Crash Bandicoot made a name for itself with its wacky levels and frenetic gameplay, but the levels themselves were fairly standard in their theming in the earlier entries. You had your jungles, your factories, and even a good old fashioned airship, but it was all the same kind of thing people had seen before in prior platforming games like Donkey Kong Country. Crash Bandicoot: Warped turned those standards on their heads and spun them around. Castles, prehistoric times, even Area 51-Warped has a whole lot of options to pick from. Couple that with tightened gameplay elements from the previous games (and some new mechanics like motorcycle racing and dinosaur riding) and you’ve got the makings of a wacky trek through time. It’s not as heavy as others on this list, and it doesn’t have to be. Warped demonstrates that time travel games can be as light-hearted as they can be serious.
~Donovan Bertch
8. Bayonetta 2
Both the 1st and 2nd Bayonetta games have time travel in them, but 2 was chosen as the time travel takes a larger presence in the game. During the events of Bayonetta 2, it starts out automatically as a sequel. The events of the previous game have already occurred, but as the story progress. Players can start to piece together that the events now also make the game a prequel. I don’t want to get into the specifics for the sake of spoilers. But there are some other direct forms of Bayonetta arriving in the past before the Umbra Witches were almost wiped out. There is another aspect of time travel to the series that comes from Bayonetta’s abilities. The Witch Time ability of slowing time, allows for another less thought of version of time travel.
~Melissa Buranen
7. Dragon Ball Xenoverse
If you know the anime series of Dragonball Z, then you’ll already know the time travel aspect of the series. With the Xenoverse game it takes that to the forefront. In the game the character created by players is called a ‘Time Patroller’. Through the progression of the story the player character will travel to different events of the Dragonball timeline. The goal being to correct the changes that others have caused in the timeline. The moving through different areas and dealing with changes in time provides some interesting battle set up that were not present in the main series. This doesn’t just go for the main story quests, but for the parallel quests too. Going not just forward and back on the timeline, but across multiple different timelines.
~Melissa Buranen
6. Final Fantasy XIII-2
The sequel to the critically mediocre Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 puts the player into the role of Serah, Lightning’s sister. Together with newly acquainted Noelle, Serah must travel through time to find her sister. This is perhaps one of the most sound time travel narratives in gaming, as we know that plots can certainly twist out of control. Final Fantasy XIII-2 presents an interesting dilemma to the time traveling cliché. Serah can help change the outcome of the future by intervening in the past; however, with each outcome changed, Serah risks her life. Creating one of my favorite Final Fantasy villains, XIII-2 does a tremendous job with characterization and leaves your mouth gaping in its finale.
~ Evan Schwab