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[CartridgeBlower]

Many times I try and go back to play an 8-bit RPG and find that the majority don't hold up. That makes sense because, at least in the console space, they were still in their infancy. The games built upon what came before them and got better.

But if you could only play one -- not for nostalgia or history -- but for quality -- which would it be?

There's a lot to choose from.

 

[DJIzana]

My pick.

 

[FloatOn]

Faxanadu

 

[Andrew.]

Crystalis

 

[Shion]

 

[bryehn]

Phantasy Star

Edit: Dammit.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Game Boy / Game Boy Color was pretty good for these
Dragon Warrior 3
Pokemon series
Final Fantasy Adventure

 

[Uchigatana]

Honestly, the 8 bit RPGs seem to follow the DQ template. So, I'll go for an off-beat choice.

 

[Vanillalite]

I still like

Holds up better IMO than the Ultima or DQ/DW stuff.

I'm also shying away from the action stuff as there are a lot of NES games that are borderline RPGs depending upon definitions.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Dragon Quest IV, no contest.

If we're allowing GBC, Lufia was pretty good too.

 

[Krejlooc]

easy easy choice

 

[clarkision]

Honestly, the 8 bit RPGs seem to follow the DQ template. So, I'll go for an off-beat choice.

Oh heck yes! I was trying to remember this one! Great game!

 

[Wiz]

DQ3/4 holds up really well.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Either dragon quest 3, ff 3, or ps1. True kings of the 8 bit JRPG.

 

[Semblance]

Phantasy Star's the only one I'd mess with these days.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

By far.

 

[garath]

.

 

[Krejlooc]

I think Phantasy Star needs to be seen in motion to be understood how far ahead of everything else it was

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3P-3GsiRIw

It honestly looks like a 16-bit RPG at times. And not just in terms of visuals, but also the structure and progression. It was so far beyond the competition.

I'm at work, someone else make a gif of one of the dungeon segments. They were mind blowing at the time.

 

[ChipotIe]

Might and Magic for the NES is surprisingly good if very obtuse.

The Mother 1 retranslation for the Mother 1+2 game on the GBA is also really good though I feel like you have to already be a fan of the series to be receptive about this game since most of the time you're just in the 80s US setting fighting crows, farmers, and hippies.

:edit:

Does Crystalis really count? If so then yeah Crystalis. One of my top 8-bit games. It's like Zelda but less open world and more heavy on the story... oh and better in every possible way. If any series needed a ton of iterations it's Crystalis, but alas... it got a bad GBC remake and that's it.

 

[jblank83]

Crystalis

Yeah, I can go for that.

Ultima Quest of the Avatar NES is still good to this day. I'd say it's criminally underrated, to be honest.

Some of my other favorites are DQ 1, FF 1, Might & Magic, and Wizardry.

Holds up better IMO than the Ultima or DQ/DW stuff.

The NES version of Ultima 4 is very playable and quite sophisticated for an 8-bit game. I think FF 1 is very well balanced in terms of combat difficulty and level progression, but it's also very simplistic.

 

[Krejlooc]

If we're counting action-RPGs like Crystalis, then this deserves serious consideration:

And yet, despite this, I still have trouble choosing between this and Phantasy Star

 

[Gruco]

Dragon Quest 3. Big world, lots of exploration. Challenging without being absurd. Team building offers replayability, and it's well balanced to afford different styles.

 

[sörine]

Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Warrior IV
Final Fantasy III
Phantasy Star
SD Snatcher
Mother
Chaos World

Does TG16/CD count? What about ARPGs and SRPGs? This list could get a lot bigger.

 

[Solid Samus]

Faxanadu

If Faxanadu counts, then definitely

 

[Beckx]

Digging all the Phantasy Star love here.

Nero still watching over Alis to this day!

 

[Krejlooc]

Faxanadu

like, not even the best in the 8-bit series. Legend of Xanadu and Legend of Xanadu 2 were so much better:

 

[commish]

It's easily Phantasy Star, and I'm pretty certain I played nearly every RPG ever released in the U.S. on the SMS or NES. I would also put Miracle Warriors in my top 5, but not sure how that would hold up nowadays.

 

[Krejlooc]

It's easily Phantasy Star, and I'm pretty certain I played nearly every RPG ever released in the U.S. on the SMS or NES. I would also put Miracle Warriors in my top 5, but not sure how that would hold up nowadays.

I didn't even like that game when it was new, personally.

 

[Fuz]

Ultima VI
Followed by Darklands and Ultima IV

 

[Dsyndrome]

Dragon Warrior 4. Five different Chapters with multiple characters with awesome 8-bit music. Rented this every week from the grocery store for like a month, it was so great.

 

[Sinatar]

The NES version of Ultima 4 is pretty great as was the NES port of Might & Magic 1.

But presumably since this is GAF you want a JRPG, which on is undeniably Dragon Quest 4.

 

[PaNaMa]

You sure those Legend Of Xanadu games are 8 bit? They look too good to be 8 bit.

 

[Krejlooc]

You sure those Legend Of Xanadu games are 8 bit? They look too good to be 8 bit.

They're on the PC Engine, which is an 8-bit console.

EDIT: "bits" has nothing to do with graphics unless you are talking color depth (in which case the NES isn't 8-bit).

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

I only had a chance to play Dragon Quest III on GBC but I was able to tell it was ahead of its time.

So that one.

 

[sixteen-bit]

You sure those Legend Of Xanadu games are 8 bit? They look too good to be 8 bit.

PC Engine/Turbografx 16 actually has an 8-bit CPU.

 

[bemusedchunk]

 

[Freddo]

Agreed.

 

[Bitanator]

Radia Senki for NES is very good, worth a playthrough

 

[Krejlooc]

I feel this game is named after the genre it belongs in

 

[garath]

I think Phantasy Star needs to be seen in motion to be understood how far ahead of everything else it was

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3P-3GsiRIw

It honestly looks like a 16-bit RPG at times. And not just in terms of visuals, but also the structure and progression. It was so far beyond the competition.

I'm at work, someone else make a gif of one of the dungeon segments. They were mind blowing at the time.

Oh god. Why did I turn that on. Now I'm humming the music to myself. It's so catchy and 100+ hours of it when I was younger has it stuck in my head permanently.

 

[Col WillieSharp]

.

 

[lordmrw]

My pick would be either Dragon Warrior 3 or Phantasy Star. Phantasy Star at this point is much more bearable now that you can simply go to gamefaqs and find maps of all the dungeons. But back in 1990 when I played it? Dear god.

 

[Boney]

I fucking love Pokemon Silver

Has everything a kid would want

 

[Krejlooc]

Oh god. Why did I turn that on. Now I'm humming the music to myself. It's so catchy and 100+ hours of it when I was younger has it stuck in my head permanently.

I recently installed an FM mod on my US SMS and have been replaying PS1 with a Master Ever Drive using the JPN retranslation mod. The FM music sounds so off to me lol

My pick would be either Dragon Warrior 3 or Phantasy Star. Phantasy Star at this point is much more bearable now that you can simply go to gamefaqs and find maps of all the dungeons. But back in 1990 when I played it? Dear god.

I still have maps I drew on graph paper from back in the day stored in a notebook at home. The annoying part was misjudging how long a hall way was and having the dungeon intersect in impossible ways.

 

[randomkid]

Man I can't wait till I get the chance to eventually play Phantasy Star and DQ3.

For a more obscure pick, there are certain folks who swear by Radia Senki

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=393743

 

[FloatOn]

like, not even the best in the 8-bit series. Legend of Xanadu and Legend of Xanadu 2 were so much better:

I can only vouch for games I've played.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I played Phantasy Star in the 2000's for the first time, without a guide. I drew all the maps by hand and had fun doing it.

But I admit, I was in a map-drawing mood. >_>

 

[bemusedchunk]

I feel this game is named after the genre it belongs in

You got me there....
It's up for debate - but only if intellectuals are the ones debating.

Spoiler

I'm not smart enough to defend that it's an rpg without being reductive so much by claiming all video games are rpg's

 

[Vandole]

Can we throw in Gameboy games? If so Final Fantasy Legend II was a hell of a game. I'm still bitter we never saw the DS remake translated.

 

[djtiesto]

Obviously Phantasy Star, but if you consider Super CD-ROM games as 8-bit, I'll have to give consideration to Tengai Makyo: Manjimaru, Ys I, II, and IV, and Startling Odyssey 2.

If we're just sticking to 7800/NES/Master System, Final Fantasy I/III, Crystalis, Dragon Quest III/IV, Radia Senki, Lagrange Point, and Faria are all up there.