Mauricio_Magus
Banned
There's some GREAT 8bit RPGs I have not played so I can't say it's the absolute best, but my personal picks would be:
Mother 1
Ys 1+2
Dragon Quest III
Mother 1
Ys 1+2
Dragon Quest III
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What is the best 8-bit RPG?
- Thread starter CartridgeBlower
- Start date
Sapphire Dreams
Member
Ne question about it, I'd arguably say it's the best game I played on the Master System.
This is Chrono Trigger before Chrono Trigger was Chrono Trigger. It did most of the gameplay mechanics in 8 bit. Also has mechanics no other RPG has.
Is it worth playing these days? It's pretty damned cheap on eBay.
Cow Mengde
Banned
Yes. The game is unlike any RPG you've played.
If you're referring to DQIV I'd follow initial release year more than localization year, especially as not only are we trying to talk about a period in gaming but crossing territories anyway here; for all intents and purposes DQIV is a 1990 game, and DQV is a 1992 game. And I was just picking two of the more prominent systems (well, I kind of expect the C64 caught on more than the Master System ever did), there's an implied era there with him mentioning that RPGs were "in their infancy at least in the console space" in the OP. Early TG16 games are arguably fair game even with dual 16-bit GPUs, but games like The Legend of Xanadu very blatantly run afoul of that intent, not unless you thought RPGs were in their infancy until the PS1 or PS2. Seriously, its contempoaries weren't the original Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy as the case was for Ys I & II, but rather Dragon Quest VI, Final Fantasy VI, Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, Phantasy Star IV, basically most of the very best 16-bit RPGs. By all rights they'd be grouped with them instead, it's not even made in a style more akin to what you'd see on NES.
That's true, though with how long it lasted I have to assume at least with the CD attachment/version factored in it was also seen as an SFC/MD rival too. It kind of muddies the discussion in general, kind of like the Dreamcast.sörine;122664895 said:
UncleSporky
Member
I'll probably be the only person to say this, but:
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance
This is a huge and complex game that really has no business being on the NES. It's a very faithful port of AD&D's ruleset, including piles of weapons and armor and lots of spells that have extremely specific uses or no use whatsoever, like Resist Cold when no enemies ever use cold attacks, or Snake Charm which only works on the one snake enemy in the game.
In many ways it's better than the PC version since it has no copy protection and you don't have to look up all the text in a separate physical book. No "read entry 57 to see what the goblin says," somehow they fit it all on the cartridge.
Really early game for having actual role playing options for how to deal with different situations. Before a fight you can parlay with monsters, try to intimidate them, trick them etc. Battles can be quite tactical with magic in the mix, the maps are based on the actual geometry of the map you're in. And there are a ton of really big maps to explore.
Admittedly I used a guide to get through it, because it is quite old school in its execution, but I really enjoyed it!
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance
This is a huge and complex game that really has no business being on the NES. It's a very faithful port of AD&D's ruleset, including piles of weapons and armor and lots of spells that have extremely specific uses or no use whatsoever, like Resist Cold when no enemies ever use cold attacks, or Snake Charm which only works on the one snake enemy in the game.
In many ways it's better than the PC version since it has no copy protection and you don't have to look up all the text in a separate physical book. No "read entry 57 to see what the goblin says," somehow they fit it all on the cartridge.
Really early game for having actual role playing options for how to deal with different situations. Before a fight you can parlay with monsters, try to intimidate them, trick them etc. Battles can be quite tactical with magic in the mix, the maps are based on the actual geometry of the map you're in. And there are a ton of really big maps to explore.
Admittedly I used a guide to get through it, because it is quite old school in its execution, but I really enjoyed it!
This is Chrono Trigger before Chrono Trigger was Chrono Trigger. It did most of the gameplay mechanics in 8 bit. Also has mechanics no other RPG has.
This right here. My favorite game on the entire system (yep - even more than Metroid, Zelda or SMB 3). In fact, I liked it enough to buy a sealed copy and have it graded and slabbed by VGA (and I normally hate both buying sealed games and VGA/slabbing).
The soundtrack alone was god-tier, but the gameplay totally backed it all up. I still play it every few years without fail.
Also, I second Crystalis. I'm playing it right now - I bought a Retron 5, and that's the first game I popped into it. The original save games from 20+ years ago were even still on it!
Phantasy Star for turn based RPGs and Faxanadu for Action RPGs.
Also, for our friend Krejlooc, yes the PC Engine is an "8 Bit Console" but your argument was asinine nonetheless. The OP was almost certainly referring to the third console generation (NES, Master System, Atari 7800) which is also known as the 8 bit era. The PC Engine or TurboGrafx-16 was part of the fourth console generation along with the Genesis and Super Nintendo. That being said, I like your taste in games. The Legend of Xanadu games are great.
Also, for our friend Krejlooc, yes the PC Engine is an "8 Bit Console" but your argument was asinine nonetheless. The OP was almost certainly referring to the third console generation (NES, Master System, Atari 7800) which is also known as the 8 bit era. The PC Engine or TurboGrafx-16 was part of the fourth console generation along with the Genesis and Super Nintendo. That being said, I like your taste in games. The Legend of Xanadu games are great.
Awesome soundtrack to boot.
Did this release in North America?
Do it. Its like... Fatal Resident Quest lol.
I'm surprised no one is working on Legend of Xanadu translations.
Netherscourge
Banned
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Main reason why I went with FFI is it is so playable even though it is simple in nature. It's not as obtuse as some 8 bit RPGs, and it tends to have a relatively easy progression and game balance without any weird difficulty spikes.
I meant to edit this into my prior post but it somehow got skipped over!
This is Chrono Trigger before Chrono Trigger was Chrono Trigger. It did most of the gameplay mechanics in 8 bit. Also has mechanics no other RPG has.
Yeah, this is one of the games I wanted to play most... as a toddler, after seeing it in a magazine. Guess I just had a good sense for games to go for then, disappointed I didn't get it, don't think even the rental place had it.
Well, same for Crystalis actually, but Crystalis kept showing up in the help and all so it didn't feel like an obscure game that just grabbed my attention entirely like that did.
Disaster Nebraska
Banned
Any answer that isn't Pokemon Gold/Silver is wrong.
All of the original Pokemon plus an additional (iirc) 100 more. It was one of the first games to incorporate an internal clock in a meaningful way (morning/day/night cycle, plus a weekly calendar of events). Held Items were added, which put battle strategies through the roof. Pokemon breeding/eggs were added. Trainer rematches. The fashion contests (unless my memory has failed me and that was introduced in a different game).
Not only that, but the game was twice as large as the original. It's still the biggest set in the franchise. You spent about 30-40 hours beating the 8 gyms in Kanto and training for the Elite 4, catching Pokemon, playing in the safari zone, and doing the stuff listed above. Then, you win the Elite Four and the game is like "Oh, how about 8 more gym leaders and the entire region from the first game?" SO massive.
Otherwise, my picks would be Dragon Warrior (Quest) 3 and 4. Both of those games were pushing some very interesting narrative structures for their time (on console at least; PC was already way ahead of the curve)
All of the original Pokemon plus an additional (iirc) 100 more. It was one of the first games to incorporate an internal clock in a meaningful way (morning/day/night cycle, plus a weekly calendar of events). Held Items were added, which put battle strategies through the roof. Pokemon breeding/eggs were added. Trainer rematches. The fashion contests (unless my memory has failed me and that was introduced in a different game).
Not only that, but the game was twice as large as the original. It's still the biggest set in the franchise. You spent about 30-40 hours beating the 8 gyms in Kanto and training for the Elite 4, catching Pokemon, playing in the safari zone, and doing the stuff listed above. Then, you win the Elite Four and the game is like "Oh, how about 8 more gym leaders and the entire region from the first game?" SO massive.
Otherwise, my picks would be Dragon Warrior (Quest) 3 and 4. Both of those games were pushing some very interesting narrative structures for their time (on console at least; PC was already way ahead of the curve)
Shmuely Bully
Member
I haven't played a ton, but I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy Legend.
This is Chrono Trigger before Chrono Trigger was Chrono Trigger. It did most of the gameplay mechanics in 8 bit. Also has mechanics no other RPG has.
I loved this game. It was indeed very advanced for its time.
are you asking because I posted japanese screenshots? it was indeed localized, I played it in english. apparently, it's on the 3DS virtual store.
Yeah it looked interesting, and there really isnt much unique to play on Game Gear aside from Sonic and Shining Force...maybe Aleste but thats expensive for now lol.
I'd say Dragon Quest IV, because apart from being awesome, I think it's the closest to a 16-bit game in terms of playability/user-friendliness.
Notwithstanding the fact it's really unfair to count Super CR-ROM2 games as 8-bit games (as it's regarded as a 4th generation machine competing with SFC and MGD), I really don't think Legend of Xanadu is worth a mention. All I remember are fetch quests after fetch quests interspersed with good looking but totally unchallenging side-view parts. Is the second one better?
Notwithstanding the fact it's really unfair to count Super CR-ROM2 games as 8-bit games (as it's regarded as a 4th generation machine competing with SFC and MGD), I really don't think Legend of Xanadu is worth a mention. All I remember are fetch quests after fetch quests interspersed with good looking but totally unchallenging side-view parts. Is the second one better?
FreedomFighter
Member
Quite a few games I never heard of in here. Great thread.
Oh gosh all this Crystalis love is making me tear up here, it always seemed lost to time to me. Glad its still alive in the hearts and minds. It was the first game to get emotional, shed some tears and then unleash righteous fury on the next boss. Soo good.
and
Legends of Legends here folks.
Scheharzade was a game I always wanted to play when I was a kid. The ads drove me crazy, could never find a copy tho.
That's something else I wanted to bring up but don't think I did: didn't those updates significantly improve the system's capability? At least I know if you didn't have the newer CD card in for Rondo of Blood it wouldn't play, you'd just get this sort of mini-game thing instead. That's kind of a unique quirk of those generations in that you had those upgrades coming one way or another, either on the cart or something you added on. Still, it'd seem the carts and early CD games are on the fence, but once you got further in it was full on rivaling SNES/Genesis.
... Man, that's ALMOST older than the FC, and older than the NES. I am inordinately fond of this vocal version of the NES theme though.
Does the boxart say "Allah" (god in Arabic)? First time I'm seeing something like that on a game boxart
This is Chrono Trigger before Chrono Trigger was Chrono Trigger. It did most of the gameplay mechanics in 8 bit. Also has mechanics no other RPG has.
BobbyRobby
Member
Dragon Warrior IV is my favorite. It got me into JRPGs.
I got a copy of Scherezade, but Im gonna wait to pick up a Retron to play it. I don't trust old save batteries. Crystalis too.
I got a copy of Scherezade, but Im gonna wait to pick up a Retron to play it. I don't trust old save batteries. Crystalis too.
NightDriver
Member
Ultima V.
Dragon Quests 3 and 4, Phantasy Star, Ys 1 and 2 are all fantastic answers. So are Mother and Ultima 3 and 4.
One of my favorite RPGs of all time is Emerald Dragon.
It's been released on many systems over the years, including basically all Japanese computer systems. It also got remade for PCE CD and Super Famicom later on. It came out in 1989 and was the first RPG I'd personally played that had such deep character interactions. Every character has an interesting story, and it has a party chat system, similar to skits from Tales games, but muuuuch sooner than they did anything like that. It also has (in every version except for the Super Famicom version) a seamless overworld where you can walk in from the field out of town with no transitions whatsoever. The battle system is kind of like a turn-based Ys where you use AP to determine how far you can move and the effectiveness of your attacks. I think Glodia may actually have actually been one of the first Japanese devs to start experimenting with this kind of system with their games, even though Emerald Dragon wasn't their first try at it (Zavas was).
Another one which got mentioned but not detailed in this thread is Radia Senki, an RPG by Tecmo for Famicom.
This is a very interesting and unique game. It has seamless battle transitions (i.e., battles break out on the field you're already moving on) and once you're in battle, you control a character and move around kinda like an action RPG. Other characters are driven by AI. It's kind of like a more primitive version of FF12 if it had your regular attack mapped directly to a button. The game also has Ninja Gaiden style cutscenes, which I think really sets this game apart from its contemporaries on the same system. Very pretty stuff. Very fun game.
Both of these games have fan translations, although the fan translation for Emerald Dragon is for the Super Famicom remake rather than any of the 8-bit originals. Still, I highly recommend both whole-heartedly.
One of my favorite RPGs of all time is Emerald Dragon.
It's been released on many systems over the years, including basically all Japanese computer systems. It also got remade for PCE CD and Super Famicom later on. It came out in 1989 and was the first RPG I'd personally played that had such deep character interactions. Every character has an interesting story, and it has a party chat system, similar to skits from Tales games, but muuuuch sooner than they did anything like that. It also has (in every version except for the Super Famicom version) a seamless overworld where you can walk in from the field out of town with no transitions whatsoever. The battle system is kind of like a turn-based Ys where you use AP to determine how far you can move and the effectiveness of your attacks. I think Glodia may actually have actually been one of the first Japanese devs to start experimenting with this kind of system with their games, even though Emerald Dragon wasn't their first try at it (Zavas was).
Another one which got mentioned but not detailed in this thread is Radia Senki, an RPG by Tecmo for Famicom.
This is a very interesting and unique game. It has seamless battle transitions (i.e., battles break out on the field you're already moving on) and once you're in battle, you control a character and move around kinda like an action RPG. Other characters are driven by AI. It's kind of like a more primitive version of FF12 if it had your regular attack mapped directly to a button. The game also has Ninja Gaiden style cutscenes, which I think really sets this game apart from its contemporaries on the same system. Very pretty stuff. Very fun game.
Both of these games have fan translations, although the fan translation for Emerald Dragon is for the Super Famicom remake rather than any of the 8-bit originals. Still, I highly recommend both whole-heartedly.
Random Painted HIghway
Member
Best dw3/4 crystalis, Scheherazade
Worst hydlide ultimate exodus. Came in here to mention ue so I have to laugh that it is mentioned a few posts up
Worst hydlide ultimate exodus. Came in here to mention ue so I have to laugh that it is mentioned a few posts up
SpinningBirdKick
Banned
Super Mario RPG (SNES)
SoGood.gif
SoGood.gif
I like FF 1 a lot for its tightly balanced gameplay, great dungeon design, and great boss scenarios. Ultima IV NES doesn't sacrifice complexity or variety though, does so without being obtuse, and is well balanced as well. Further, Ultima 4 (and the other early Ultimas) directly influenced near every RPG in the industry (as did Wizardry). It was the heavyweight of its time, as Final Fantasy was for many years.
FF 1 is near the top of my list of great 8-bit RPGs, but Ultima 4 is higher.
It's def DQ 3 or 4 and Radia Senki. But these two deserve a mention:
Ultima : Quest of the Avatar on the NES: huge world, moon cycles, 4 characters in your party, turn-based strategy fights, solid graphics, long quest.
Legend of Black Silver on the C64: full RPG with overworld map and detailed dungeon crawler, plus mini-games, jobs to earn money, a freaking banking system, so much more stuff I forgot but still, what they did with the constraints they had was amazing.
Ultima : Quest of the Avatar on the NES: huge world, moon cycles, 4 characters in your party, turn-based strategy fights, solid graphics, long quest.
Legend of Black Silver on the C64: full RPG with overworld map and detailed dungeon crawler, plus mini-games, jobs to earn money, a freaking banking system, so much more stuff I forgot but still, what they did with the constraints they had was amazing.
Somehow, mainly regarding memory, but it always kept its 8-bit CPU, making it technically an 8-bit console. Even the PC-Engine Duo with Arcade card released in 1994, and even the SuperGrafx, NEC short-lived attempt at making a new model in response to the SFC, only had an 8-bit CPU.
That only proves that the 8/16-bit distinction is a bit silly, as the PC-Engine definitely competed with the 16-bit machines of the era.
In most people's mind, and I assume the OP's, it refers to a certain era that more or less match the 3rd generation. No one would say that games released on Super CR-ROM2, like Dracula X, Tengai Makyo 2 or Winds of Thunder (also on Mega-CD) looks like 8-bit games, and yet they are.
This is the worst kind of western revisionist history. The PC Engine primarily competed against the Famicom, where the twilight years of its life were just when the Super Famicom began taking off in popularity in that region.
Further, these posts dwelling on "but I just don't feel like it's 8-bit!" are mind numbing and extremely US centric. Refer to "8-bit" in Europe and people will undoubtedly think of the 2nd generation of video games, namely the Atari 8-bit line.
Rhazer Fusion
Member
One of my favorite RPGs of all time is Emerald Dragon.
It's been released on many systems over the years, including basically all Japanese computer systems. It also got remade for PCE CD and Super Famicom later on. It came out in 1989 and was the first RPG I'd personally played that had such deep character interactions. Every character has an interesting story, and it has a party chat system, similar to skits from Tales games, but muuuuch sooner than they did anything like that. It also has (in every version except for the Super Famicom version) a seamless overworld where you can walk in from the field out of town with no transitions whatsoever. The battle system is kind of like a turn-based Ys where you use AP to determine how far you can move and the effectiveness of your attacks. I think Glodia may actually have actually been one of the first Japanese devs to start experimenting with this kind of system with their games, even though Emerald Dragon wasn't their first try at it (Zavas was).
Is there a version of this game that was released in English?
What revisionist history? I suggest you back up your argument with facts before going the aggressive route.
While it's true the PC-Engine was conceived as a machine to go against the FC, 4 years after the later mind you, it was quickly confronted to the 4th gen consoles, first the Megadrive, released just 1 year after, then the SFC. The PC-Engine was only 3 years old at this point. NEC tried to make it's own next-gen console with the SuperGrafx but failed miserably. That's where the Super CR-ROM2 comes in, to make the PC-Engine competitive against the new consoles.
And are you really trying to argue Super CR-ROM2 games aren't on par with 4th gen games?
Herbspiceguy
Member
Sweet Home by far.
Everyone remotely interested in 8-bit RPG's owes it to himself to play this masterpiece. It's amazing how genuinly creepy the game is for a NES title and it's interesting to see it's influences on Resident Evil.
It's a JP only release but there's a translation patch.
Forgot to mention that the game has amazing music; Fresco theme
Everyone remotely interested in 8-bit RPG's owes it to himself to play this masterpiece. It's amazing how genuinly creepy the game is for a NES title and it's interesting to see it's influences on Resident Evil.
It's a JP only release but there's a translation patch.
Forgot to mention that the game has amazing music; Fresco theme
ForsakenLotus
Member
The two franchises that come to mind for the 8-bit era are Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Personally I think Final Fantasy has always been ahead of DQ, but then I haven't spent nearly as much time with DQ as I have with FF.
I'd go with the original, personally. Although Phantasy Star might just be the best all around classical RPG from that era. Faxanadu gets a mention though because it's the first Action RPG I ever remember playing.
I'd go with the original, personally. Although Phantasy Star might just be the best all around classical RPG from that era. Faxanadu gets a mention though because it's the first Action RPG I ever remember playing.
