From JRPGs like Final Fantasy VII to tabletop RPGs like Gloomhaven, some games let players experience the glories and trials of being a mercenary.

Although there are many iconic video games about assassins (Assassin's Creed, Hitman) or spies (Metal Gear Solid, No One Lives Forever), there are strangely not as many titles that focus on mercenaries. While some RPGs give players the option to customize their character as a mercenary, these choices influence only certain gameplay elements.

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Yet there are a few games that do center around either a mercenary or a group of mercenaries by default. In games such as the Armored Core series, for example, these private soldiers fight for their own reasons.

Although Kronos Digital Entertainment is known mostly for developing some of the worst fighting games, such as Criticom, they had also created a horror-esque action adventure series called Fear Effect. Beginning with the original 2000 PS1 title, the series typically follows an LGBTQ+ woman named Hana Tsu-Vachel who is forced to work as a mercenary in a cyberpunk version of Hong Kong to pay off her debt to the Chinese Triad.

During each of the three current entries, Hana and other mercenaries get caught up in strange supernatural plots while trying to do their jobs. Despite the poorly implemented gameplay, the series has a cult following for having an eye-catching cel-shaded art-style, an interesting cast of characters, and an LGBTQ+ protagonist.

Beginning in 1993 for the SNES, Star Fox is an ongoing science fiction space shooter series and one of Nintendo's most popular franchises. While the series has had three separate continuities, the games all follow the righteous mercenary team "Star Fox," which is led by the main protagonist Fox McCloud.

To protect the planet known as Corneria, which is full of anthropomorphic animals, the Star Fox team travels across Lylat System using their advanced spaceships called Arwings and battles various threats such as the evil scientist Andross, the rival team Star Wolf, and creatures from planet Venom. As long as they're getting paid, they're willing to fight off any threat, but they'll also only accept jobs that are on the side of justice.

When the award-winning PS1 JRPG Final Fantasy VII was released in 1997, the game quickly became a cultural phenomenon that changed the world. This influential and historical title made JRPGs popular internationally for the first time, and it proved that games could have grand and impactful narratives. The player controls a mercenary named Cloud Strife who joins an eco-terrorist group called AVALANCHE that's trying to save the planet from people who want to drain its lifeforce.

With advanced graphics for the time, serious themes, an excellent cast of characters, and some of the most emotional scenes in video game history, the game continues to be a beloved classic. Even years later, Cloud and his story lives on through adaptations, side-games, and the ongoing remake.

Beginning in 1986 for the NES, the ongoing action adventure Metroid series is considered one of the most influential video game franchises. Each of the games in the series focus on the iconic mercenary Samus Aran as she fights against Space Pirates and other threats across the galaxy that attempt to use the power of parasitic aliens known as Metroids.

Besides being one of Nintendo's biggest properties with plenty of award-winning installments, the games are also known for helping to create the Metroidvania genre, and for having one of the first and best female protagonists in gaming history. With the successful release of the 2021 title Metroid Dread, the franchise only continues to grow.

Released in 2005 for the GameCube, the tactical JRPG Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance was the first 3D entry in the Fire Emblem series. Despite the technical difficulties faced during development, the final product was critically acclaimed and was successful enough to have a direct sequel on the Wii titled Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

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Within the fictional continent of Tellius, tensions exist between the humanoid Beorc and the shape-shifting Laguz. After the Beorc nation Daein invades the smaller country Crimea, the princess, Elincia Ridell Crimea, manages to escape and meets the mercenary Ike. Now, Ike and the rest of his crew must repair relations between the Beorc and Laguz in order to defeat the King of Daein and restore Elincia to the throne.

Created by FromSoftware, who is best known for the Soulsborne games, Armored Core is a third-person mecha shooter series that takes place in a dystopian future. From the franchise's beginning in 1997 to the most recent installment in 2013, there were 13 mainline titles along with re-releases, spin-offs, and mobile titles, which led to the series releasing at least one new installment per year.

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Though the series went through four different continuities, all of the games follow a silent mercenary protagonist who pilots giant combat robots called Armored Cores for various clients. After completing missions for these clients, the player gains credits that allow them unlock more missions along with upgrading and customizing their Core.

Released in 2018 as part of the larger BattleTech franchise, BattleTech is a turn-based strategy mecha game that takes place within the same setting as the original table-top wargame Classic BattleTech. During the year 3025, the galaxy is trapped in an endless war that's being fought by various noble houses using BattleMechs that are piloted by MechWarriors. Players must create their own 'Mechs and lead them in combat.

When the mercenary player is hired by Kamea Arano of House Arano to be her guard during her coronation, her uncle launches a coup that leads to Kamea being declared dead and the player going into hiding. After the player joins a mercenary group called the Marauders, Kamea is revealed to be alive, which leads to the Marauders helping her to defeat her dictator uncle and restore her to the throne.

Released in 2017, Battle Brothers is a turn-based tactical RPG that's even more brutal than the XCOM series. Within a procedurally generated medieval fantasy world, the player runs a mercenary company and is able to control every aspect about it including which individuals are hired, how those individuals are trained, which areas are explored, what items are used, and which contracts are accepted.

Since the mercenaries are just regular people and the in-game world has realistic medieval conditions, anyone can die at anytime from anything. Along with the random elements, this game will be a fun challenge even for the most experienced player.

Released in 2019, Mordhau is a multiplayer medieval hack and slash fighting game that has an extremely in-depth fighting system, which requires plenty of skill to master. After the player customizes their own unique mercenary, they can compete against other players in seven different game modes.

These modes include the usual Deathmatch, which has everyone against each other, Frontline, which has the players split into two teams and trying to earn the most points, and Horde, which has players working together against AI-controlled enemies. Because of the focus on realism, the in-game combat is based on real fighting techniques using medieval weapons, which makes the combat much more nuanced than most other similar multiplayer titles.

With the original tabletop game considered to be one of the best co-op board games available at the moment, it's not surprising that the 2021 deck-building turn-based tactical RPG dungeon crawler Gloomhaven on PC is also an incredible video game. Together with up to four people, the players lead a band of mercenaries through dungeons and story missions where every choice matters.

At the start, players have a handful of pre-set characters to choose from that have their own ability cards, skills, and quests, and more characters and abilities are unlocked as the game progresses. Instead of moving through dungeons using dice, players use two cards per turn to determine their actions.

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Anastasia Wilds is a freelance writer for Screen Rant. Because of her passion for video games, her main focus is writing video game listicles for the website. Along with writing, she also streams various video games on Twitch and uploads some of her highlighted streams onto YouTube. Before working at Screen Rant, she worked as the Senior Arts Editor for "The Spectrum" newspaper at the University at Buffalo.