A common theme in gaming is royalty and nobility. It's one theme that's featured in almost every fantasy or medieval setting, where big grandiose castles exist. But fictional settings let us escape the imperial tendencies of real royalty, so maybe it's better to have some fun with it.

Royalty is found across all forms of media, and games are no exception. Typically though, you're usually not the royalty, instead building your way up from the bottom instead of having everything from the beginning. Some games decide to give you that position and power from the beginning and in some very different ways.

Updated September 6th, 2024 by Hilton Webster: It can be easy to forget through intense romanticisation that royalty is an actual thing that still exists in many parts of the world. They, of course, should not, but games are fiction and you can do anything in them. So pick up one of these games where you can play as a member of royalty to live out the wonderful fable of a Good King.

18 Zelda's Adventure

While Echoes of Wisdom may have finally given her a standalone adventure of her own by Nintendo's standards, any true fan would know that Zelda got her actual first adventure without Link all the way back in 1996. And oh boy, it's not surprising Nintendo doesn't acknowledge it exists.

That's cruel, and the game was clearly made under some harsh restrictions, but it's hard to compare it favourably when Link's Awakening and A Link To The Past had already been released. Featuring live-action cutscenes and top-down gameplay, it's a decidedly unique take on Zelda, at any rate.

17 ღ The Sims 🎃Medieval

We know The Sims as the glorious life sims they are, letting you manifest your deepest desires such as a healthy relationship or a stable job. They're also a treasure trove of mods, from the fantastical to the fictitious. Of course, they took a more themed look themselves, once upon a time.

The Sims Medieval has you play the role of a citizen of the medieval period, from the lowest peasant to the highest of kings. Of course, being a monarch isn't like roses and sunshine, though it is a markedly better life than those below you. Just make sure to appease your subjects.

16 Princess Peach: Show🌠time 🎃

For being the star heroine of one of Nintendo's biggest series from their very inception, it's a bit laughable that it took so long for Peach to get a game of her own. Yes, she was in Mario Party a bunch, but so was Shy Guy. Surely the kidnapped princess deserves a game of her own?

And in Showtime, she got it! It's an adventure styled like a stageplay, and though it can at times run a bit dull, at least Peach finally got a chance to stand in the limelight for herself, free of giant lizards and moustachioed misters vying for her attention. A girl's gotta let loose sometimes, even if she's an eternal princess.

15 ꦍ Prince Of 🐎Persia

It's pretty funny when you think about the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Prince of Persia series. It died off because it was replaced by Assassin's Creed, the Prince himself was always a vaguely white man, and the original game was home to some serious sexism. Very little to do with actual Persia.

The Lost Crown has a brand new protagonist for us to play with, though one that isn't actually the Prince. The series as a whole has a lot of heavy baggage despite the massive impact it had on 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:movement mechanics, and future games have th🐓eir woꦅrk cut out for them.

Something you might have heard before, but Assassin's Creed was birthed from 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:🌄the concept stage for a new Prince of Persia game.

14 Xen�✅�oblade Chronicles

Your first thought with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xenoblade Chronicles is likely the massive worlds, grand stories and deeply philosophical discussions on humanity. Maybe it's Pyra and Mythra's feet, if you're Masahiro Sakurai. No matter who you are though, royalty is probably one of the last things to come to mind.

Our dearest Melia is in fact the future queen of the High Entia, an easy-to-forget fact when she's drop-kicking enemies. Melia goes against much of the typical portrayals of royalty, not being afraid to get her hands dirty while also dealing with the ingrained prejudices of her people and the royalty that she is upholding.

Melia's voice actor Jenna Coleman, who is also known for being in Doctor Who, leaked the existence of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 by mistake.

13 💧 Yes, Your Grace ⛎

Yes, Your Grace is a game very much in the vein of Reigns. You play as king of the land of Davern, and 𓄧must carefully manage the needs of your people between what is just and what is practical. In many ways, this ultimately comes to your own preservation♐, but the risk of monsters is a genuine one.

The people who visit your court are a memorable sort, many having their own intricacies and stories that will unravel as the games goes on. Securing alliances with other nations is just an integral as supporting your own people if you 💜hope to survive the threats at your doorstep.

12 Hades

Supergiant is an unmatched development team. Throughout its history, it's only released four games, and yet each and every one of them is a lesson in what games can achieve from teams as small as this one. Hades gave the developers an unfathomable shot of popularity, which isn't surprising given the characters.

The first game somewhat adjacent to reality, Hades takes place in the Greek underworld with you playing as Prince Zagreus, son of Lord Hades. In truth, Zagreus doesn't fit many definitions of royalty, and is more just a child rebelling against a parent. Okay, it's a parent who is the lord of the underworld, and who meddles in the affairs of the Greek pantheon, but maybe that's what princes rebel against for fun?

Was one royal child not enough? Then Hades 2's Melinoe may be the Princess of the Underworld for you!

11 ꦉ Odin Sphere

Vanillaware is now a well-known developer, following the success of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, but prior to that, it had released many great games that flew mainly under the radar. One of the first it ever made (and remade) was Odin Sphere. Contrasting with the 3D game💞s of the time, Odin Sphere is entirely 2D, and presented as if it were a play.

The game is told through a character called Alice reading through old books she's found. Each book tells the tale of a character, many of whom are kings and queens. The tales weave through each other, and there's enough political intrigue mixed with Norse mythology to satisfy any buff, with the remake even slightly expanding these stories.

10 Fire Emblem 🅘

Yeah, that's right, we mean pretty much the whole 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fire Emblem series. In fact, Byleth from Three Houses and Ike in Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn are the only exceptions. But Marth, Chrom, Corrin, Roy, and plenty of others? All royalty. Granted, it's rare you're ever the actual highest order here, be it king or other such position, but instead a prince, an heir presumptive, and so on.

Sometimes the title may be meaningless in the grand scale of things and is simply thematically fitting. Sometimes it might be that same position that makes keeping your soldiers alive so meaningful due to your position. It varies from game to game, but you can guarantee you'll almost always be someone of influence.

9 Kingdom

Originally launched in 2015, Kingdom is a 2D side-scrolling game where you play as a king or queen, building up your kingdom during the day, only to defend it from vile creatures at night. It functions almost like a tower defense game, allowing you to build various defenses𒐪 to ꦍyour left and right to keep your center kingdom safe.

It was followed up with Kingdom: Two Crowns. This let a king and queen play together in co-op, now defending their realm across various different cultures and settings. Here, being royalty is essential to the experience. It is your r🎶esponsibility to keep your people safe, and your fault if they falter.