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Opinion on these SNES RPGs?

Mustawd

Guest
- Chrono Trigger

My fav snes RPG. Just tons of goddamn fun. I played it in 2012. So not nostalgia glasses here.

- Final Fantasy VI

I found it overrated. Just typical storytard crap. It's not bad. But I enjoyed FF10 and FF7 more,

- Front Mission

Play it. It's great. Nice and complex and crunchy. Great tactics/SRPG.

- Breath of Fire

Babbies first rpg. Don't waste your time if you are not interested in just experiencing it for experience sake.

- Shadowrun

Great potential ruined by combat mechanics.Seriously. Combat is awful. Just watch some LPs.
 

Doktor Best

Arcane
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
2,849
Well what do you look for in an rpg?

Well, that was not really the point of the thread, but more of a "are these games good or just "curious trash"?"

Anyhow, in an RPG I usually look for:

- Good, fun combat. Tactical or action, it doesn't matter.
- Well written characters, at the very least memorable.
- Many options to customize my character, e.g.: Materia system (FFVII), job system (FFT), and the like. Straightforward upgrades bore me to death.
- A good story, be it simple or complex. This is the last of my priorities: if the game is only good because of its story, it better be one of the finest ever written. On the other hand, if it is "good" because it is "weird as fuck", I pass.
- I'm not interested in pure strategy games. It's RPGs first and foremost.

Like I said, I want good games, games that are considered good or an argument can be made about them being good. Of course, if you know something that may be of interest to me based on the above, that would also be great.

Ok so youre looking for a well rounded experience then i guess. I was asking because quite a few of those classics in your list lack challenge, which led to my initial dissapointment with the genre. I was starting with the great classics FF6 and Chrono Trigger and well, the gameplay loop itself was a little bland to be honest. Character progression also left a little to be desired since you have very linear progression without any player choice in Chrono Trigger and the Esper system in FF6 is unbalanced and gimmicky (imho).

They have charming graphics, plot, characters, good pacing/leveldesign and some cool bossfighs though. They are classics for a reason after all.
 

Siveon

Bot
Joined
Jul 13, 2013
Messages
4,509
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Listen to Queen's Queen II to get the full complement of references by Yazmat. I believe Teo Torriate (Let us Cling Together) was a single they released only in Japan, shortly after A Night at the Opera, though.
They're all on YouTube so thankfully that doesn't matter. Also Queen II is some prime fantastical rock thing.

Somewhat heretical, but I think a lot of Ys remakes are better than the originals. Namely 3 and Oath in Felghana. IV and Celceta are almost completely different. Also I loved Feda. It's like Fire Emblem in a weird tabletop setting. Ilusion of Gaia is pretty great too, but it barely fits the "Action RPG" label people give it. It's more like an action game than anything else.
 

HeatEXTEND

Prophet
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Thanks for your replies people. I loaded up some games in RetroArch, and to be honest decided to play it simple and safe and got rid of around 20 titles (between "the retranslations are incomplete"/"the game looks retarded"/"it's not something I find fun" and the like).

Make sure you play Lufia 2 before 1, much, much better that way.
 

Sigourn

uooh afficionado
Joined
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Messages
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Thanks for your replies people. I loaded up some games in RetroArch, and to be honest decided to play it simple and safe and got rid of around 20 titles (between "the retranslations are incomplete"/"the game looks retarded"/"it's not something I find fun" and the like).

Make sure you play Lufia 2 before 1, much, much better that way.

Story purposes? Lufia II is supposed to be much better, and the general consensus is "play the worse game first".
 

No Great Name

Arcane
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
572
Location
US
Careful if you're playing Shin Megami Tensei. The lawful path is bugged and you can't beat the game unless you find a patch for it somewhere.

Also, if you're going to play Tales of Phantasia, I would highly recommend reading this, especially since there isn't an English manual and I remember it being hard to find reliable info on the game's battle mechanics.
 

mushaden

Scholar
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Messages
334
FYI I know Breath of Fire 2 has an English retranslation patch that is supposed to be much better than the official localization
 

Zerth

Arbiter
Joined
Feb 18, 2016
Messages
406
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Terranigma gameplay and design are kind of a loose mix between Alundra/Zelda (dungeon exploration, gadgets and Alundra-like bitter moments )and Illusion of Gaia/chrono trigger (exp, stats, tech, etc.). A tragic plot that revolves around a world going under constant reincarnation.

I found noteworthy and amusing that part of Terranigma when you are the decisive vote of a town major election. You can either vote for the socialist one and doom town's future to stagnation, or ensure town's progress by voting for the revolutionary capitalist candidate.
 

HeatEXTEND

Prophet
Patron
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Nedderlent
Thanks for your replies people. I loaded up some games in RetroArch, and to be honest decided to play it simple and safe and got rid of around 20 titles (between "the retranslations are incomplete"/"the game looks retarded"/"it's not something I find fun" and the like).

Make sure you play Lufia 2 before 1, much, much better that way.

Story purposes?

Story purposes. It's a trade-off versus overall gameplay/story enjoyment but I'd always suggest going 2 first.
 

Falksi

Arcane
Joined
Feb 14, 2017
Messages
10,538
Location
Nottingham
Out of those which I have played to a significant degree.....

- Chrono Trigger - Fucking brilliant. A tad on the short side, but definitely worth playing.

- EarthBound - Overrated IMO, but a lot of it comes down to taste. I played around 2/3rds of it and just got bored. Nice little game, but will essentially come down to how much you connect with the world/theme.

- Final Fantasy IV - Great (albiet simple) story, great game. Great place to get classic JRPG kicks from.

- Final Fantasy V - Awesome game. My 2nd fave FF game, simply because the job system just keeps things so fresh and interesting throughout. The story is fairly average, but it's often overlooked how much fun it is to explore the world (there's quite a few little secrets tucked away here & there, which again keeps things interesting). Definitely play.

- Final Fantasy VI - I was actually quite disapointed with this tbh. My biggest gripe was the way they keep splitting the parties, and the way the characters were setup. It just didn't work for me. That said, I've only played it through once & I'm planning on playing through again soon. Loads of folk rave about it, so I'd say it's worth playing as it appears to be one of those games which folk love if it fits their preferance.

- Illusion of Gaia - Nice little game. One of those which seems to do everything good, but nothing spectacular. Definitely worth playing, and personally I love the way the story unfolds, & it's connection to reality.

- Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals - OK game, can see why many like it, but personally I found it very cliche & very repetitive.

- Secret of Mana - Another overrated game, but that said I still think it's worth playing and has undoubted quality running throughout. I've finished it 4 times so it's definitely got some hook.

- Seiken Densetsu 3 - Not as good as the original, and a far more formulaic & repetitive structure. Folk sing it's praises, but it bored the fuck out of me.

- Dragon Quest I & II - Just to old for me to be able to get in to now.

- Romancing SaGa 3 - Didn't grab me at all.

- Secret of Evermore - Trash. Grindy, bland & boring structure which becomes very old very fast. Not enough story or substance.

- Soul Blazer - Cute, but again one of those games which has had it's day, and doesn't offer enough to keep me interested now.

- The 7th Saga - Odd game, with some very interesting elements, but again ultimately too dated to really recomend for people coming to it fresh now. I'd still say have a try, but just go in with low expectations.

- ActRaiser - Shit hot. Seriously, this bad boy still oozes quality now. The "God" sections have clearly been outdone since, but are easy-going enough to still be enjoyable (ideal for when you want a breather from more instense games & are "Pairing" as you are). The action sections are utter quality, and the music is fucking a-m-a-z-i-n-g.
 
Self-Ejected

aweigh

Self-Ejected
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
17,978
Location
Florida
The New Age Retro Hippies flashes a blinding smile.












































































Falksi begins to cry uncontrollably!
 

deama

Prophet
Joined
May 13, 2013
Messages
4,352
Location
UK
I had fun playing E.V.O.: Search for Eden. It's basically Spore but 2D and focuses more on evolution of species rather than evolution of everything (e.g. going from tribes to modern civilisations). There's also some story to it; it's not bad, but can't remember much of it.
 

Max Stats

Liturgist
Joined
Nov 26, 2016
Messages
1,091
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Kind of odd for this to be in a list of RPGs. I've always considered it an action adventure game, not so much a traditional RPG (game has no leveling of any kind). But by all means, try it, it's easily one of my favorites in the series.

Yep, only Zelda 2 had real Xp and leveling and it's pretty much the black sheep of the series. Still worth playing through at least once, but way harder than the other Zeldas (save maybe the CDI abominations).

LTTP also well worth playing, but definitely not an RPG in any logical sense of the term.
 

Grampy_Bone

Arcane
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Jan 25, 2016
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Wandering the world randomly in search of maps
Bahamut Lagoon - Shit game, avoid. It's like ogre battle, only crap.

Front Mission - front mission 3-5 are better. This game has annoying limits on weapon ranges and oddball mech customization rules. Worth it if you really like tactics games and giant robots though.

Front Mission: Gun Hazard - It's a great Cybernator/Assault Suit Valken clone with light RPG leveling mechanics. Fun.

Illusion of Gaia - Boring, linear, slow dialogue, no exploration, lame characters. Avoid, play Terranigma instead

Live A Live - Shitty game with really odd mechanics. Play Romancing SaGa 3 instead.

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals - Very solid

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen - Long and repetitive, OB 64 and Tactics Ogre are much better, but it's where the series starts.

Star Ocean - Unfinished game, lame time travel plot, end boss makes no sense. Only worth it if you want to see the backstory for the rest of the series.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together - Great game

Terranigma - Great action RPG with a really weird story. Soulblazer's true successor.

Treasure of the Rudras - Stupid game with bizzare magic system based on entering letters. Funny to kill a boss by casting your name at him but otherwise dumb.
 
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Grampy_Bone

Arcane
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Messages
3,640
Location
Wandering the world randomly in search of maps
Breath of Fire I/II - Skip. The first is very simplistic, the second has aggravating mechanics

All Dragon Quest and Final Fantasies from that platform are great, play them.

Romancing SaGa - I only recommend playing Romancing SaGa 3. The first is transitional for the series and feels unfinished (the PS2 remake is great though). The second has permadeath which is very annoying.

Secret of Evermore - Meh

Shadowrun - Nice story but crap gameplay. The Sega version is better.

Shin Megami Tensei 1&2 - Interesting games where you join Satan to kill God after he blows up the world. In these older titles all the monsters were static and couldn't be leveled, so in both games your main character ends up being the only member of the party that can actually do damage. Kinda lame.

Soul Blazer - Great, play this before Terranigma

Uncharted Waters: New Horizons - I actually really liked this game and got hooked on it, playing all the characters.

Mystic Ark - Seems like a cool game but it's divided into these wierdo fantasy worlds with dumb themes. So you go to Fruit World, Candy World, Children World, etc. I didn't really get it.

The 7th Saga - The US version has the leveling tables fucked on purpose to make it ultra-hard. I beat this game as a kid on the original cartridge and that's an experience I don't wish on my worst enemies. I've heard the japanese version is much easier though.
 

Grampy_Bone

Arcane
Joined
Jan 25, 2016
Messages
3,640
Location
Wandering the world randomly in search of maps
- ActRaiser - Not an RPG, it's an action platformer with very very light town sim elements. Still pretty good though.

- Alcahest - Apparently I played this but I can't remember shit about it

- Arcana - Lameo dungeon crawler, only play if you just love wizardry to death ( aweigh )

- Brain Lord - Surprisingly good puzzle/action RPG-ish zelda type game

- Brandish 1&2 - Dungeon crawlers with odd movement mechanics. Somewhat addictive if you can get into them, but beware of difficulty spikes

- Feda: The Emblem of Justice - It's a Shining Force clone with a dumb morality mechanic: fighting too many battles makes you evil and costs you recruits. Lame.

- Gunman’s Proof - Cowboy Zelda

- Harvest Moon - The original classic, it's pretty simplistic but it's neat for what it is.

- Robotrek - Fight battles with robots you build and customize; the dumb thing is you can only use one at a time, even though you build 3. Plot is pretty stupid, even for a JRPG.
 

Ent

Savant
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Messages
539
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together for the SNES had a really nice Japanese modding scene that has since gone mostly inactive - sadly none of those cool ass mods will probably get an english translation so you're are going to need to learn moonrunes. Alright grammar nazis you win.
 
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Snorkack

Arcane
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Jan 8, 2015
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Lower Bavaria
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
why so much hate for Secret of Evermore? Unless you wanted to play with friends, it was better in every aspect than Secret of Mana where at about 1/3 of the story every dungeon and every endboss is just a reskin of what you already explored/fought.

Illusion of Time (or Gaia) and Terranigma are great storyfag action rpgs. Soul Blazer is their predecessor, but aged rather bad, imo.

Tales of Phantasia was a great game and way ahead of its time, but you need to put a lot of grind into it.

Super Mario RPG is very beautiful but really boring and repetitive.

Might&Magic 2 for SNES is the best looking and -sounding MM2-port, although it is slightly dumbed down in some places compared to pc version.
 

Hyperion

Arcane
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,120
Secret of Evermore was definitely a favorite of mine as a kid. Monster design was excellent, and varied throughout, each weapon felt unique and had different uses ('till the bazooka, of course...), and puzzles were sufficient. The one major downside was the weapon system - having to level each new weapon from '0 - 100' 3 times was aggravating - and you always got a new weapon loooong before the previous could be leveled. Plus, it's not like each upgraded weapon had a different moveset from the previous - it was just stronger because it came from a more advanced time period. Spear was probably the most useful, though. The Alchemy system is one of my favorite takes on magic to this day. Since it required a lot of grinding to level the spells, the replay value of the game was quite nice, trying out different spells each time. For an SNES game, the spell animations were great, too. For offensive spells, I believe Crush, and Lance stood out above the rest, though. Mostly because they didn't use much in the way of ingredients.

I also really enjoyed the markets in the Roman and Medieval cities, and added a layer of gameplay outside of simple action. The Roman one was more enjoyable, since the Medieval one required a bit of metaknowledge regarding the Amulets of Annihilation. Also, 5 year old me was a huuuuuuge history nerd, and who doesn't fucking love dinosaurs as a kid? The settings were like a dream come true. Definitely an underrated treasure.

Fun fact I learned last week: If you name the main character "FUCK," the Skeleton in the Desert to Nobilia calls you a potty mouth, and charges you 3 Amulets of Annihilation for a ride instead of 1. The little things matter, bros.
 
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Snorkack

Arcane
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
At least charging up weapons was actually useful. Nothing more infuriating than spend a minute in Secret of Mana charging your lance to level 8 and then not hitting shit. And yeah, market and alchemy were really fun.
 

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