Why Are Older RPGs So Much More Fun?

EmuAsylum has a great conversation going about what makes older 8-bit and 16-bit RPGs so much better than their new-generation counterparts.

While I am far from an RPG expert, tt seems that older RPGs like Earthbound and Chrono Trigger concentrated more on being unique and having a good story than relying on eye candy. As great as Final Fantasy VII was, I believe it set the stage for a trend of showy RPGs.

Anyway, read the conversation and feel free to contribute.


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One Comment

Ryan says:

Final Fantasy VII was also the first huge commercialized RPG and one of the first big commercial games really. That fact right there sometimes makes me reluctant to say FFVII is my favorite, but it is quite the amazing game.

And you’re right about eye candy coming before story and gameplay with modern RPGs. In the 16-bit era much was left to the imagine, and now a game is sometimes sold soley on it’s graphical presentation. It’s sad.

Sadly, there haven’t really been any truly great RPG’s released during this generation. FFX was good (not the best FF by far), but X-2 was a sham, and FFXI doesn’t even count. Hopefully the PS2 can go out with a bang with FFXII.

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