What are your favorite 8-bit era RPGs?

[noiseredux]

Final Fantasy Adventure > Final Fantasy Legend

agreed. But FFA isn't what I call an RPG. But yes, I will agree. Final Fantasy Adventure completely rules, and I prefer it over Sword of Mana. BTW, in truth FF Legend III is the best of the trilogy. I just have played the first way more.

[k.vlaros]

I've played: a little Dragon Warrior 4 via the DS remake [a port of the PS2 remake], a lot of Phantasy Star 1, a little FF1 and a little Startropics. I think I'm enjoying Startropics the most, though it's probably more adventure than RPG. Like Zelda.

My feeling is this is a genre that benefited especially from the advent of 16-bit hardware. Some genres just have a higher baseline technical requirement for me to really get in to them. Racers would be another example, and I might even set the low-end there at the PS1 and N64 to really enjoy a title on its own merits versus nostalgia.

With that said, I was for years heavily in to text-only, online RPGs known as MUDs.

[mobiusclimber]

Back when I was a wee lad, my brother and a bunch of friends sat around playing D&D (probably using first edition back then) and I watched them, enthralled. Eventually I got my own set of third edition books and started playing with friends.

At the time, I loved arcade games, but the home consoles had nothing of interest to me. The 2600 couldn't even get the arcade ports halfway right (seriously, that's not Pac-Man). I played a bit of it, but always grew bored with each game after a few minutes. Then the NES came out. I never owned an NES back then, my family being too poor to afford one. (And no, I didn't own a Master System either). But I did get to play it at other people's houses. Loved Zelda tho I had no idea what I was doing. A little while later, I watch a friend play Final Fantasy, and I vowed to one day own a console and play RPGs of my own. (I still to this day have not played more than a couple of hours of the first FF. Weird, I know.)

The first RPG I got to actually play was Crystalis, again, at a friend's house. And I still to this day love that game and will break it out about once a year or so.

Eventually I did get an NES and a Master System of my own. So here's my favorite RPGs on those systems:

1) Crystalis. Yeah, an action-RPG but only the best ARPG on the system (and arguably of all time, says twelve-year-old me).
2) Dragon Warrior. Oh yeah, sure, it's primitive. Look at when it came out, people! But what I love is the sense of adventure I got from the game. The feeling that if I was only strong enough, I could go anywhere. Unlike a lot of later RPGs, there's no artifical roadblocks to stop you from going to places you aren't meant to go yet in the story. (Not until near the end, anyway.) So if you can survive the beating those Golems are going to give you, you can cross the bridge and head to the town you shouldn't be going to for another five hours. You, of course, aren't likely to survive, but still, it feels much more organic than "sorry, bridge is out, go get a banana so the monkey will give you the wrench I need to work on it" bit of fetch questing most other RPGs throw at you.
3) Dragon Warrior III & IV. I hated DW2, sorry. The next two, tho, are nothing short of amazing. Don't have much to say beyond that except that, man, the wagon was a stroke of genius.
4) Ghost Lion. This is a fairly silly, and rather psychedelic, game, but that's what really makes it stand out. There isn't a whole lot of hand-holding, either, nor any in-game instructions, so some of the more unique features aren't readily apparent and the game can seem more frustratingly difficult that it should really be. For instance, I got 2/3rds of the way thru the game before I got a good handle on the party system. (You use items to summon spirits for help. I didn't realize you could have more than one summoned at a time.) It's one game that, even tho I played it recently, I didn't use a walkthru at all, which (due to real life time constraints) doesn't happen that often any more. I really loved discovering all the weird nonsense in the game, getting the hang of the game mechanics, and finally beating the game legitimately without any help. This really feels like one of those games that doesn't bother with what an RPG "should" be and just exists the way its meant to. The nice thing about 8-bit RPGs is that the genre wasn't set in stone (basically everything ripping off Dragon Warrior).
5) Faria. This is another fun action-RPG, tho not in the same league as Crystalis (few games are). I had a lot of fun with it, and again, it tries a lot of weird different things that mostly end up working. Also, gotta love the ridiculous plot.
6) Phantasy Star. My first console RPG that I ever owned was Phantasy Star II, so I couldn't wait to play the first game in the series. This game definitely did not disappoint, tho I have to say I can't see how anyone could have made it thru the game without a walkthru. Buying the cat, for instance, is NOT anywhere close to being obvious. Besides the weird story elements like that making the game difficult, the random battles occur frequently and they can be downright nasty at times. But that's what I love about Phantasy Star (at least the first two). They're nail-bitingly, hair-pullingly tough. You feel like a real man after besting one. (Sorry ladies, but beating Dark Falz or Mother Brain will put hair on your chest, so I hope you like hairy boobs.) I actually played this game using an adapter for the Game Gear, and took it around on the bus with me. I'd make one save outside of a dungeon, then another while I wandered around inside. If I couldn't find my way out, I'd have a back up plan (not that I really needed it with Escapipes).
7) Ultima IV. I've always hated the Ultima series on consoles, but this one and Avatar on the NES are probably the best ports. I just think the battle engine and the graphics are a lot more fun than the other ports (those SNES ones just look and play godawful).

[BoneSnapDeez]

Back when I was a wee lad, my brother and a bunch of friends sat around playing D&D (probably using first edition back then) and I watched them, enthralled. Eventually I got my own set of third edition books and started playing with friends.

At the time, I loved arcade games, but the home consoles had nothing of interest to me. The 2600 couldn't even get the arcade ports halfway right (seriously, that's not Pac-Man). I played a bit of it, but always grew bored with each game after a few minutes. Then the NES came out. I never owned an NES back then, my family being too poor to afford one. (And no, I didn't own a Master System either). But I did get to play it at other people's houses. Loved Zelda tho I had no idea what I was doing. A little while later, I watch a friend play Final Fantasy, and I vowed to one day own a console and play RPGs of my own. (I still to this day have not played more than a couple of hours of the first FF. Weird, I know.)

The first RPG I got to actually play was Crystalis, again, at a friend's house. And I still to this day love that game and will break it out about once a year or so.

Eventually I did get an NES and a Master System of my own. So here's my favorite RPGs on those systems:

1) Crystalis. Yeah, an action-RPG but only the best ARPG on the system (and arguably of all time, says twelve-year-old me).
2) Dragon Warrior. Oh yeah, sure, it's primitive. Look at when it came out, people! But what I love is the sense of adventure I got from the game. The feeling that if I was only strong enough, I could go anywhere. Unlike a lot of later RPGs, there's no artifical roadblocks to stop you from going to places you aren't meant to go yet in the story. (Not until near the end, anyway.) So if you can survive the beating those Golems are going to give you, you can cross the bridge and head to the town you shouldn't be going to for another five hours. You, of course, aren't likely to survive, but still, it feels much more organic than "sorry, bridge is out, go get a banana so the monkey will give you the wrench I need to work on it" bit of fetch questing most other RPGs throw at you.
3) Dragon Warrior III & IV. I hated DW2, sorry. The next two, tho, are nothing short of amazing. Don't have much to say beyond that except that, man, the wagon was a stroke of genius.
4) Ghost Lion. This is a fairly silly, and rather psychedelic, game, but that's what really makes it stand out. There isn't a whole lot of hand-holding, either, nor any in-game instructions, soProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ome of the more unique features aren't readProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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y apparent and the game can seem more frustratingly difficult that it should really be. For instance, I got 2/3rds of the way thru the game before I got a good handle on the party system. (You use items to summon spirits for help. I didn't realize you could have more than one summoned at a time.) It's one game that, even tho I played it recently, I didn't use a walkthru at all, which (due to real life time constraints) doesn't happen that often any more. I really loved discovering all the weird nonsense in the game, getting the hang of the game mechanics, and finally beating the game legitimately without any help. This really feels like one of those games that doesn't bother with what an RPG "should" be and just exists the way its meant to. The nice thing about 8-bit RPGs is that the genre wasn't set in stone (basically everything ripping off Dragon Warrior).
5) Faria. This is another fun action-RPG, tho not in the same league as Crystalis (few games are). I had a lot of fun with it, and again, it tries a lot of weird different things that mostly end up working. Also, gotta love the ridiculous plot.
6) Phantasy Star. My first console RPG that I ever owned was Phantasy Star II, so I couldn't wait to play the first game in the series. This game definitely did not disappoint, tho I have to say I can't see how anyone could have made it thru the game without a walkthru. Buying the cat, for instance, is NOT anywhere close to being obvious. Besides the weird story elements like that making the game difficult, the random battles occur frequently and they can be downright nasty at times. But that's what I love about Phantasy Star (at least the first two). They're nail-bitingly, hair-pullingly tough. You feel like a real man after besting one. (Sorry ladies, but beating Dark Falz or Mother Brain will put hair on your chest, so I hope you like hairy boobs.) I actually played this game using an adapter for the Game Gear, and took it around on the bus with me. I'd make one save outside of a dungeon, then another while I wandered around inside. If I couldn't find my way out, I'd have a back up plan (not that I really needed it with Escapipes).
7) Ultima IV. I've always hated the Ultima series on consoles, but this one and Avatar on the NES are probably the best ports. I just think the battle engine and the graphics are a lot more fun than the other ports (those SNES ones just look and play godawful).

Solid list. Ghost Lion and Faria are fantastic under-rated games. I wanna throw The Magic of Scheherazade into the mix too, another great NES game that no one talks about anymore.

And I agree with you about Phantasy Star. I used a walkthrough every step of the way while playing PS I, II, and III. And I still got lost and confused! I can't imagine how a kid could have beaten one of those back in the day. You would need the patience of a monk.

[mobiusclimber]

Solid list. Ghost Lion and Faria are fantastic under-rated games. I wanna throw The Magic of Scheherazade into the mix too, another great NES game that no one talks about anymore.

And I agree with you about Phantasy Star. I used a walkthrough every step of the way while playing PS I, II, and III. And I still got lost and confused! I can't imagine how a kid could have beaten one of those back in the day. You would need the patience of a monk.

Gah, can't believe I forgot Scheherazade! Love that game! XD

It's funny b/c I bought PSII cart only and got pretty close to the end (just couldn't find all of the Nei armor). That game does NOT hold your hand even to the point of telling you what spells do. I'd get a new spell, test it out in battle, and go "wow that just killed the spell caster, wtf?!" There were some truly frustrating moments playing it but I think it's a big reason why I'm able to find enjoyment in playing Japanese RPGs without a translation or walkthru (and without knowing Japanese). So much of how I got thru PSII was just from experimentation, trying to figure out what everything did. It actually became fun in its own way.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Solid list. Ghost Lion and Faria are fantastic under-rated games. I wanna throw The Magic of Scheherazade into the mix too, another great NES game that no one talks about anymore.

And I agree with you about Phantasy Star. I used a walkthrough every step of the way while playing PS I, II, and III. And I still got lost and confused! I can't imagine how a kid could have beaten one of those back in the day. You would need the patience of a monk.

Gah, can't believe I forgot Scheherazade! Love that game! XD

It's funny b/c I bought PSII cart only and got pretty close to the end (just couldn't find all of the Nei armor). That game does NOT hold your hand even to the point of telling you what spells do. I'd get a new spell, test it out in battle, and go "wow that just killed the spell caster, wtf?!" There were some truly frustrating moments playing it but I think it's a big reason why I'm able to find enjoyment in playing Japanese RPGs without a translation or walkthru (and without knowing Japanese). So much of how I got thru PSII was just from experimentation, trying to figure out what everything did. It actually became fun in its own way.

PSII was brutal. I remember one dungeon where you had to navigate by falling through a series of holes. It was a terrible experience, and I was using maps!

I'm happy I played it, but it's one game I can never stomach to play again.