Best SNES games [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Craft (Cheese)

2012-02-28, 02:32 AM

Donkey Kong Country 2

This. DKC2 and Yoshi's Island are trivially simple platformers if you only want to get to the end, but the real challenge is to find all the secrets hidden in each level: You may have more fun that way.

Anyway, to list off a few RPGs others haven't talked about:

Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - There's also a prequel, Rise of the Sinistrals, though if you care at all about plot it's probably best to play RotS before Fortress of Doom, as the latter casually drops spoilers for the former.

Bahamut Lagoon - Early SRPG, only available in fan translation. I actually haven't played this very far so I can't say too much about it, but it's pretty universally loved so I'll give it a mention here just for that.

Seiken Denesetsu 3 - Secret of Mana sequel, only available in fan translation. Fantastic action RPG that just might have the best music and graphics in the entire 16-bit era.

The 7th Saga - The english release is plagued by bugs that make the game nearly unplayable, but there are fan patches that attempt to fix these. YMMV on how good a job they do at this, but I enjoyed the patched game enough to give it a mention.

Terranigma - Excellent action RPG that unfortunately suffers from a severely broken translation with no attempts that I know of to fix it. Was also only given an english release in Europe for some reason.

Treasure of the Rudras - Fairly standard Japan-only FF-styled RPG that unfortunately has a severely broken difficulty curve, as the developers assumed players would master the very complex magic system long before most players actually do. Still, I enjoyed it quite a lot. I played it back when the only fan translation around was severely broken and clearly made by someone with a poor understanding of both english and japanese, but I understand there's a better one available now.

Star Ocean - Another Japan-only action RPG that unfortunately was only half-finished, but is fun while it lasts. Development time was cut short and the game basically cuts off in the middle and doesn't have much of an ending. I think there was actually a remake of the game on the PSP with the second half of the game intact as the developers originally intended, but I might be thinking of something else.

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (FE4) - Once again, Japan-only. I haven't been able to finish this game yet, but once again I'm leaving it here because it's pretty much universally adored. There's another SNES Fire Emblem game, Monsho no Nazo, but it's a remake of the first FE on the NES and, honestly, I wasn't terribly impressed by it.

I'll come back and add more if I think of anything else.

Starwulf

2012-02-28, 02:45 AM

Also going to put my vote forward for Final Fantasy VI (released in the US as Final Fantasy III originally). Best of the series and a great game even if it is almost 20 years old.

Super Mario RPG is also great.

How about some that haven't been mentioned yet?

Donkey Kong Country 2 and Megaman X. I grew up with these games and they practically raised me. I also reccomend Megaman X2, Megaman X3, Donkey Kong Country, and Donkey Kong Country 3, but not as strongly as DKC2 and MMX.

Super Castlevania VI is great.

I didn't mention those ones because the OP mostly wanted RPGs, but I will heartily agree with you, all the games you listed I have, own, and have even played within the last year even ^^.

Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 are just about the two best JRPGs ever made so I'd go and check those out. Then you have Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy 4, Tales of Phantasia & Lufia 2 that are very high up there at least.

Then you have run-of-the-mill FF5, Secret of Mana, Breath of Fires, etc. And a billion I forgot to mention. There's a lot of good RPGs on SNES.

AH-HAH!, Lufia 2! There's one I forgot. Can't believe I forgot Lufia 2 ><

This. DKC2 and Yoshi's Island are trivially simple platformers if you only want to get to the end, but the real challenge is to find all the secrets hidden in each level: You may have more fun that way.

Anyway, to list off a few RPGs others haven't talked about:

Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - There's also a prequel, Rise of the Sinistrals, though if you care at all about plot it's probably best to play RotS before Fortress of Doom, as the latter casually drops spoilers for the former.

Bahamut Lagoon - Early SRPG, only available in fan translation. I actually haven't played this very far so I can't say too much about it, but it's pretty universally loved so I'll give it a mention here just for that.

Seiken Denesetsu 3 - Secret of Mana sequel, only available in fan translation. Fantastic action RPG that just might have the best music and graphics in the entire 16-bit era.

The 7th Saga - The english release is plagued by bugs that make the game nearly unplayable, but there are fan patches that attempt to fix these. YMMV on how good a job they do at this, but I enjoyed the patched game enough to give it a mention.

Terranigma - Excellent action RPG that unfortunately suffers from a severely broken translation with no attempts that I know of to fix it. Was also only given an english release in Europe for some reason.

Treasure of the Rudras - Fairly standard Japan-only FF-styled RPG that unfortunately has a severely broken difficulty curve, as the developers assumed players would master the very complex magic system long before most players actually do. Still, I enjoyed it quite a lot. I played it back when the only fan translation around was severely broken and clearly made by someone with a poor understanding of both english and japanese, but I understand there's a better one available now.

Star Ocean - Another Japan-only action RPG that unfortunately was only half-finished, but is fun while it lasts. Development time was cut short and the game basically cuts off in the middle and doesn't have much of an ending. I think there was actually a remake of the game on the PSP with the second half of the game intact as the developers originally intended, but I might be thinking of something else.

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (FE4) - Once again, Japan-only. I haven't been able to finish this game yet, but once again I'm leaving it here because it's pretty much universally adored. There's another SNES Fire Emblem game, Monsho no Nazo, but it's a remake of the first FE on the NES and, honestly, I wasn't terribly impressed by it.

I'll come back and add more if I think of anything else.

I've sadly not played any of the Japan-only titles that you listed, but the other ones you listed that I didn't I will also add my recommendation to, The 7th saga and both Lufia games. If you enjoyed those games and recommend them alongside the others, then I imagine the other ones are good as well ^^ If only I felt comfortable actually using an emulator to play games like that. Just feels to much like piracy to me, but it kills me knowing I'm missing out on some good games like that(and hell, Mother 3!!!!! I'd love to play the fan-translated version of that that I saw a while back).

Cogwheel

2012-02-28, 03:19 AM

Ctrl+F Terranigma

Terranigma - Excellent action RPG that unfortunately suffers from a severely broken translation with no attempts that I know of to fix it. Was also only given an english release in Europe for some reason.

Yes well done thank you.

Also, the European version has a better translation, or so I'm told. Played the Japanese original, myself.

Parra

2012-02-28, 03:27 AM

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is probably the best SNES game I have ever played. I played that game to death when I was a kid

SlyGuyMcFly

2012-02-28, 07:54 AM

Tactics Ogre?(I don't fully remember the title of this one, it's been a long time)

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. Excellent RTS/TRPG hybrid.

Also going to second Terranigma for being such a great action-RPG

ObadiahtheSlim

2012-02-28, 09:14 AM

FF6 (US 3) was one of the best games on the system. Chrono Trigger is another strong contender. Secret of Mana 2 was a JPN only cart. It's not been released to virtual console so the only legal way to play is to know Japanese.

If you prefer more of a strategy game, give Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen a try.

Serpentine

2012-02-28, 09:28 AM

Yoshi's Island is my favourite game.
Lufia 2 is pretty great.

KillianHawkeye

2012-02-28, 09:39 AM

ChronoTrigger.

This. One of the best RPGs ever IMO. Long story, great characters, lots of replay value. Multiple endings.

If you like RPGs and you've never played it, you definitely should.

BladeofObliviom

2012-02-28, 07:16 PM

This far into an SNES RPG thread and Chrono Trigger hasn't been...

...What? Half of the people here mentioned it? Oh.

Anyway, I'll throw my hat into that circle as well. Chrono Trigger is amazingly awesome.

Craft (Cheese)

2012-02-28, 07:25 PM

This. One of the best RPGs ever IMO. Long story, great characters, lots of replay value. Multiple endings.

If you like RPGs and you've never played it, you definitely should.

Okay, Chrono Trigger's a lot of things, but it's not long. You can do a 100% playthrough of the game in an afternoon and my first time playing it took only 10-12 hours, again a 100% run.

Also, the "multiple endings" are from the game's time travel mechanic, so you can go fight the final boss just a couple of hours into the game if you want. Abandoning the main plot to go fight Lavos after certain points gives you the multiple endings. Most of them are hardly able to be called "endings" at all and you'll be very disappointed if you expected any form of plot closure unless you wait until you do everything else to beat Lavos.

That said, Chrono Trigger is, if not the best RPG on the system, the most approachable: It was my first RPG ever and I had zero problems playing it.

Eldariel

2012-02-28, 07:59 PM

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is probably the best SNES game I have ever played. I played that game to death when I was a kid

This doesn't get said enough since it's not classified as an RPG in most peoples' minds but I'm pretty sure everybody in this thread who has played it can recommend "A Link to the Past". A superb game indeed and IMHO the crown jewel of the Zelda franchise.

KillianHawkeye

2012-02-28, 08:34 PM

Okay, Chrono Trigger's a lot of things, but it's not long. You can do a 100% playthrough of the game in an afternoon and my first time playing it took only 10-12 hours, again a 100% run.

Well, I suppose it's not long by today's standards. I'll give you that. But since the overall lack of grinding means there's a greater story-to-game ratio, I stand by statement. This game has a lot of story.

Also, the "multiple endings" are from the game's time travel mechanic, so you can go fight the final boss just a couple of hours into the game if you want. Abandoning the main plot to go fight Lavos after certain points gives you the multiple endings. Most of them are hardly able to be called "endings" at all and you'll be very disappointed if you expected any form of plot closure unless you wait until you do everything else to beat Lavos.

I never said the alternate endings were as satisfying as the true ending (mainly because I didn't want to spoil it). Some of them are quite nonsensical, in fact. Still, it was quite revolutionary for its time and is still a pretty cool feature.

I should also mention that the music in this game is some of the best I've ever heard on the SNES.

Forbiddenwar

2012-02-28, 08:34 PM

This doesn't get said enough since it's not classified as an RPG in most peoples' minds but I'm pretty sure everybody in this thread who has played it can recommend "A Link to the Past". A superb game indeed and IMHO the crown jewel of the Zelda franchise.

Agreed. 10char

Starwulf

2012-02-28, 10:14 PM

Agreed. 10char

Seconded! A link to the past is probably my favorite Zelda game of all time, and definitely the most memorable.

Mikeavelli

2012-03-02, 03:21 AM

If you love Chrono Trigger, check out the fan-sequel Flames of Eternity (http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=180728).

The story is on par with the original. It ties together Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross in a plausible way that makes sense of all of the plot holes Chrono Cross opened. It's amazing. Go play it right now. Why are you still reading this? Go! GO!

Blue Bandit

2012-03-02, 12:28 PM

Seconded! A link to the past is probably my favorite Zelda game of all time, and definitely the most memorable.

I concur. A link to the past is, in my opinion, the best Zelda game of the franchise and the best SNES game I've ever played. If your interested in RPG's a game I found pretty fun but difficult to play is Obitus. It's a first person RPG that's similar to the old hero quest games. Also, Lord of the Rings volume 1 makes an interesting action RPG but trying to find where to go to progress the plot is rather confusing at times.

Anyway that's my 2 cents.

Maryring

2012-03-02, 01:36 PM

Pick a random SNES game. Chances are, it'll be awesome!

My suggestions that have already been elaborated earlier on.

Seiken Densetsu 3.
Super Mario RPG.
Chrono Trigger.
Terranigma.
Breath of Fire.

I may be one of those who find Illusion of Gaia to be a terrible game in both the gameplay and story sections, but don't take my word for it.

erikun

2012-03-02, 01:49 PM

Tactics Ogre?(I don't fully remember the title of this one, it's been a long time)

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. Excellent RTS/TRPG hybrid.
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was indeed released for the SNES. It had an absurdly limited run, though, so you aren't likely to find a cartridge. (Ogre Battle is incredibly rare, as well.) Tactics Ogre: LUCT was recently re-released on the PSP, for people who actually want to be able to find it.

I'll recommend both Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre. Primarily Tactics Ogre, because both games (the SNES/PSP one and Knight of Lodis on the GBA) are some of the best tactics-RPGs I've played.

Final Fantasy 2(IV), Final Fantasy 4(VI), and Chrono Trigger were the big RPGs on the system at the time. Lufia 2 was very enjoyable as well, although I never had the chance to play the first. Secret of Mana is worth playing through, as an action-RPG. Illusion of Gaia had less exploration than Secret of Mana, but definitely a fun game and interesting story; Terranigma is the sequel.

Stepping outside RPGs for a moment, the Mega Man X games and Actraiser are definitely something you'd want to check out.

SlyGuyMcFly

2012-03-02, 05:25 PM

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was indeed released for the SNES. It had an absurdly limited run, though, so you aren't likely to find a cartridge. (Ogre Battle is incredibly rare, as well.) Tactics Ogre: LUCT was recently re-released on the PSP, for people who actually want to be able to find it.

Wow. I had no idea there was an Ogre game beside Ogre Battle for the SNES.

Starwulf

2012-03-02, 10:45 PM

Wow. I had no idea there was an Ogre game beside Ogre Battle for the SNES.

lol, I didn't think I was crazy, I've long had the name Tactics Ogre in my head as a great game, but everytime I've ever mentioned it, most people correct me and call it Ogre Battle. I figured I was just mixing the name up inside my head, I'm glad to see that such is not the case.

Fri

2012-03-03, 03:43 AM

Final Fantasy 6 (3 in the US), Chrono Trigger and Tales of Phantasia (it's fan-translated) are my holy trilogy of SNES RPGs. You won't find better.

Unless you want a tactical RPG, in which case Bahamut Lagoon is pretty amazing. Once again, it's fan-translated.

Earthbound isn't here, so you must've been drinking bad polish beer again.

But seriously. Earthbound.

Tengu_temp

2012-03-03, 11:49 AM

You might've noticed that the OP already played Earthbound. Also, it's not on my top 3 list because of the boring battle system.

Fri

2012-03-03, 12:15 PM

You might've noticed that the OP already played Earthbound. Also, it's not on my top 3 list because of the boring battle system.

SMAAAASH!!

erikun

2012-03-03, 11:59 PM

Wow. I had no idea there was an Ogre game beside Ogre Battle for the SNES.
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen, for the SNES/Wii Virtual Console
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, for the SNES/PSP
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, for the N64/Wii Virtual Console
Ogre Battle: Legend of the Zenobia Prince, for the Neo Geo Pocket Color (Japan only! :smallfurious:)
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, for the GBA

The Ogre Battle games play similar, although Ogre Battle 64 changed things a bit with a 3x3 unit grid. (Area spells also hit targets and nearby characters, rather than everything.)

The Tactics Ogre games are similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, although (imo) with better gameplay. The people who made the first FFT actually worked on the first Tactics Ogre game as well, and the quality of the story does show up.

It might be worth checking out Soul Nomad & the World Eaters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Nomad_%26_the_World_Eaters) if you like the Ogre Battle series. It's about as hard to find as Ogre Battle games, but has similar (not quite the same) gameplay and is pretty interesting.

SlyGuyMcFly

2012-03-04, 05:49 AM

It might be worth checking out Soul Nomad & the World Eaters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Nomad_%26_the_World_Eaters) if you like the Ogre Battle series. It's about as hard to find as Ogre Battle games, but has similar (not quite the same) gameplay and is pretty interesting.

Oh, cool. I'l give it a- Waitaminute. That's a Nippon Ichi game. I gotta ask first: How grindy is it?

erikun

2012-03-04, 12:02 PM

Oh, cool. I'l give it a- Waitaminute. That's a Nippon Ichi game. I gotta ask first: How grindy is it?
Somewhat-yes, somewhat-no. You could grind in the optional dungeons for as long as you'd like, but the main storyline can be handled without too much difficulty if you avoid them. You might want to do a couple of them anyways, since completing them increases the strength of the unit itself (independent of the individual character's levels) but I've found they aren't really necessary.

Then again, I didn't complete the game. Perhaps it does spike in difficulty towards the end.

Knaight

2012-03-04, 02:17 PM

Super Metroid has a handful of RPG style elements, and isn't particularly difficult as a platformer. I strongly recommend it, even though it is light on the story.

SlyGuyMcFly

2012-03-04, 05:36 PM

Then again, I didn't complete the game. Perhaps it does spike in difficulty towards the end.

Might look into it then. I got burned rather badly with Disgaea. I was having so much fun, and then discovered I had to do all these boring, pointless side battles to be able to progress. :smallannoyed:

Starwulf

2012-03-05, 12:43 AM

Might look into it then. I got burned rather badly with Disgaea. I was having so much fun, and then discovered I had to do all these boring, pointless side battles to be able to progress. :smallannoyed:

Wait, what? No you don't. You can finish the entirety of the original Disgaea game(and the port for the PSP) without doing anything EXCEPT visit the ITem world one time, and you can do that in a matter of half an hour. There is no need to do anything else to finish the main storyline. Anything else in the game is strictly side-quest material, and has absolutely no bearing on the main storyline what-so-ever.

Sleverin

2012-03-05, 03:23 AM

Earthbound is indeed mega awesome and I'm a huge fan of it (I even have a SMAAASH!!! brand yo -yo :D ) but let us not forget two more games. Front Mission and Shin Megami Tensei. Now those both have fan translations at this point, if you care to play them. Front Mission is a pretty sweet tactical rpg with mechs. MECHS PEOPLE! Personally, I like the change of pace from standard fantasy tactical rpgs. Shin Megami Tensei is an rpg in the classical vein (first person exploration, create your own party) but in a different setting (modern era Japan WITH DEMONS). Honestly, I haven't gotten that far into either of these games but I always like playing them...until I get distracted by something else. Personally I would recommend Front Mission more since I really enjoyed it a bunch, and I always mean to get to it more than I do with SMT.

Sholos

2012-03-05, 10:16 AM

Super Mario RPG. Its like Final Fantasy meets Mario, and an overall excellent game.

ChronoTrigger.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is probably the best SNES game I have ever played. I played that game to death when I was a kid

Agreed with all of these. And most of the other suggestions on this thread, for that matter.

SlyGuyMcFly

2012-03-05, 10:41 AM

Wait, what? No you don't. You can finish the entirety of the original Disgaea game(and the port for the PSP) without doing anything EXCEPT visit the ITem world one time, and you can do that in a matter of half an hour. There is no need to do anything else to finish the main storyline. Anything else in the game is strictly side-quest material, and has absolutely no bearing on the main storyline what-so-ever.

Weird. I was playing the DS port, and found that enemy's levels in the main quest were raising vastly faster than my own. May have been a case of doing something wrong, I dunno.

Tengu_temp

2012-03-05, 01:10 PM

If the battles in Disgaea get too hard, that means you're using too many characters and spreading the XP too thin as a result. Focus on less: you don't really need a character of every class, for example.

But yes, just like Final Fantasy Tactics, Disgaea belongs to the "don't need to grind if you know what you're doing" category - but if it's your first playthrough ever, grinding to finish the final boss and other tough battles will become a requirement. Disgaea 2 and 3 are better in that regard, but you still need to grind to do the side quests.

sonofzeal

2012-03-07, 06:11 AM

Personal favorite SNES games:

Chrono Trigger - This was my first JRPG and still probably my favorite. Awesome music, great art, interesting characters, unique plot, and a wealth of side-material that rewards multiple plays. If you have any fondness for JRPGs, CT is still one of the best.

Seiken Densetsu 3 - Still my favorite Action RPG of all time, SD3's rather unique structure makes for excellent replayability. You choose your team of three out of six possible characters right at the beginning, and your choice of three determines not only what you have to work with in combat, but also adds bonus dialogue based on particular combinations, and actually changes the plotline to tie in with the character you chose, to the point where the final boss and several different stages throughout the game might be radically different. Also, it's an example I've often cited on how to do "dynamic balance" correctly - each of the six characters is radically different, but everyone has their own ideas about who's best and worst and they all seem pretty solidly balanced despite their differences.

FF5 - I'd actually rate this over the legendary FF6, if only barely. FF6 had an excellent plot and cast of characters, but what sells FF5 for me is the inventive gameplay and (occasionally) bruising difficulty that forces you to really explore the potential of that gameplay. The first time through I figured out that you could X-Strike while Dual-Weilding Greataxes, which made the latter quarter of the game a lot easier... and then got utterly demolished by the final boss. Even after completely retooling just to beat him, I still couldn't do it. It was years later that I finally played through again and beat him... and to this day it remains the most viscerally satisfying boss fight I've ever had in any game. Never have I come so close to being completely and utterly crushed, only to pull through by the narrowest of margins at the last possible moment.

The Succubus

2012-03-07, 08:42 AM

For me, FF4 was over-rated. Yes the story wasn't bad but the game mechanics have not aged well.

FF5 is a definite favourite though - I'm currently playing it on my PSP (although its one of those translations where all of Fari's dialogue was put through a pirate translation program :smallannoyed:). But the sheer range of job set ups, skills to learn and party arrangements make it much more enjoyable than most other FFs.

FF6 is a feisty wench. An absolutely cracking story (possibly the greatest in the entire series....although VII comes close) with Magitek, Espers, sexy human/esper hybrids and that laugh. Bonus points for anyone that links a youtube video of it. The mechanics, while not as diverse as 5, are a vast improvement over 4. The fact that certain skills are tied to certain characters helps to solidify their personalities, rather than just being faceless skill dumping grounds as happened in VII & VIII.

As for Chrono Trigger, I'm going to disagree with all the above and say that its an absolutely terrible game with weak characterisation, lame story and a total grindf-

....yeah, couldn't get through that with a straight face. :smalltongue: Seriously, it's frikkin' awesome.

Craft (Cheese)

2012-03-07, 09:04 AM

You might've noticed that the OP already played Earthbound. Also, it's not on my top 3 list because of the boring battle system.

The battles were not the point of Earthbound.

sonofzeal

2012-03-07, 09:22 AM

The battles were not the point of Earthbound.
You're right, but I recently re-played it, and the clunky interface and slow pace, especially with regards to battles, really sucked out a lot of the charm once the novelty was gone. It was still a good game, but I couldn't even get through a second play-through, whereas I've beaten Chrono Trigger from the beginning (ie not counting "New Game +") at least four times, and I may have beaten Seiken Densetsu upwards of seven times.

Earthbound was fun and quirky and different, but I think it gets massively overrated. It's frequently amusing, but the gameplay itself was pretty mediocre and "amusing" is not really enough to carry a game through the 60+ hours it might take to beat it. That could just be personal preference, but I like my games to have gameplay. There's a reason there's so few comedy games, and it's because if you want amusement you're generally better off watching TV. Once the novelty has worn off, playing Earthbound felt like filling in an Excel file with an obnoxious faux-60's-psychedelic skin and a random pun displaying on my screen every 5-10 minutes. I'm exaggerating of course, but I really do think it runs more on novelty and nostalgia more than actually being what I'd consider a good game.

Eldariel

2012-03-07, 09:41 AM

FF5 - I'd actually rate this over the legendary FF6, if only barely. FF6 had an excellent plot and cast of characters, but what sells FF5 for me is the inventive gameplay and (occasionally) bruising difficulty that forces you to really explore the potential of that gameplay. The first time through I figured out that you could , which made the latter quarter of the game a lot easier... and then got utterly demolished by the final boss. Even after completely retooling just to beat him, I still couldn't do it. It was years later that I finally played through again and beat him... and to this day it remains the most viscerally satisfying boss fight I've ever had in any game. Never have I come so close to being completely and utterly crushed, only to pull through by the narrowest of margins at the last possible moment.

Hm; I never found it all that challenging in the end. Once I got few professions maxed out and Mimic/Normal on all my characters (Bartz maxed out fighter-types at Excalibur & Ragnarok and X-Fight & Magic Sword, Lenna maxed out magic-types and had Time Magic, White Magic and X-Magic, Cara maxed out a mix and had Black Magic, White Magic & X-Magic & Faris at 2xDragoon Lance on a mix with X-Fight and Blue Magic), it wasn't very close at all; basically maxed out the ones with good passive benefits and then the key actives for each profession. I was around level 45 at the time so I don't think I was even overleveled.

Omega was a breeze and after that, obviously, the final fight wasn't much of a fight. Once I found out how Normal and Mimic work (and got the key spells like Mighty Guard and White Wind in my Blue Magic book), the game obviously got a lot easier. That took frighteningly long for me, though ._. I didn't realize it until like around the final dungeon.

Since I found FF5 story mediocre, it ranks in the bottom of my list for Final Fantasies on SNES (which not bad, to be sure).

late for dinner

2012-03-07, 06:21 PM

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time

Super Mario Kart

Gnoman

2012-03-07, 06:26 PM

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen, for the SNES/Wii Virtual Console
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, for the SNES/PSP
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, for the N64/Wii Virtual Console
Ogre Battle: Legend of the Zenobia Prince, for the Neo Geo Pocket Color (Japan only! :smallfurious:)
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, for the GBA

The Ogre Battle games play similar, although Ogre Battle 64 changed things a bit with a 3x3 unit grid. (Area spells also hit targets and nearby characters, rather than everything.)

The Tactics Ogre games are similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, although (imo) with better gameplay. The people who made the first FFT actually worked on the first Tactics Ogre game as well, and the quality of the story does show up.

It might be worth checking out Soul Nomad & the World Eaters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Nomad_%26_the_World_Eaters) if you like the Ogre Battle series. It's about as hard to find as Ogre Battle games, but has similar (not quite the same) gameplay and is pretty interesting.

Tactics Ogre was also released for the PlayStation 1. It was an incredibly rare release (quite like the initial release of FFT, actually.)

sonofzeal

2012-03-07, 06:46 PM

Hm; I never found it all that challenging in the end. Once I got few professions maxed out and Mimic/Normal on all my characters (Bartz maxed out fighter-types at Excalibur & Ragnarok and X-Fight & Magic Sword, Lenna maxed out magic-types and had Time Magic, White Magic and X-Magic, Cara maxed out a mix and had Black Magic, White Magic & X-Magic & Faris at 2xDragoon Lance on a mix with X-Fight and Blue Magic), it wasn't very close at all; basically maxed out the ones with good passive benefits and then the key actives for each profession. I was around level 45 at the time so I don't think I was even overleveled.

Omega was a breeze and after that, obviously, the final fight wasn't much of a fight. Once I found out how Normal and Mimic work (and got the key spells like Mighty Guard and White Wind in my Blue Magic book), the game obviously got a lot easier. That took frighteningly long for me, though ._. I didn't realize it until like around the final dungeon.

Since I found FF5 story mediocre, it ranks in the bottom of my list for Final Fantasies on SNES (which not bad, to be sure).
Question - did you play it on the SNES or was it one of the later ports to handheld or whatnot? I heard the difficulty curve got nerfed all to heck in the ports.

Eldariel

2012-03-07, 06:49 PM

Question - did you play it on the SNES or was it one of the later ports to handheld or whatnot? I heard the difficulty curve got nerfed all to heck in the ports.

Super Famicon, or rather ZSNES with the fan translation.

Tengu_temp

2012-03-08, 10:44 AM

The final boss of FF5 wasn't too hard for me either, even on my first playthrough when I bumbled my way through the game and had no idea what I'm doing. I knew about how Normal works, though - heck, the game even tells you that, so it's not a secret or anything. Some other bosses were a pain though.

I like FF5 less than 6, but more than 4, which is okay but probably one of the most overrated games of all time. The story of 5 is extremely cliche and predictable, yeah, but 4 is barely better in that regard, and 5 is superior in every other aspect: characters, gameplay, graphics and music, areas. And it had a few moments that genuinely moved me, while 4 had none.

FireEyes

2012-03-08, 10:39 PM

Super Metroid has a handful of RPG style elements, and isn't particularly difficult as a platformer. I strongly recommend it, even though it is light on the story.

Light on story? The entire game had about as much text as this post.

Note: I heartily recommend Super Metroid

tyckspoon

2012-03-08, 11:18 PM

Light on story? The entire game had about as much text as this post.

Note: I heartily recommend Super Metroid

"The Last Metroid is in captivity. The Galaxy is at peace..."

There's your exposition. Now go play the game. Yup.

Craft (Cheese)

2012-03-08, 11:37 PM

You're right, but I recently re-played it, and the clunky interface and slow pace, especially with regards to battles, really sucked out a lot of the charm once the novelty was gone. It was still a good game, but I couldn't even get through a second play-through, whereas I've beaten Chrono Trigger from the beginning (ie not counting "New Game +") at least four times, and I may have beaten Seiken Densetsu upwards of seven times.

Earthbound was fun and quirky and different, but I think it gets massively overrated. It's frequently amusing, but the gameplay itself was pretty mediocre and "amusing" is not really enough to carry a game through the 60+ hours it might take to beat it. That could just be personal preference, but I like my games to have gameplay. There's a reason there's so few comedy games, and it's because if you want amusement you're generally better off watching TV. Once the novelty has worn off, playing Earthbound felt like filling in an Excel file with an obnoxious faux-60's-psychedelic skin and a random pun displaying on my screen every 5-10 minutes. I'm exaggerating of course, but I really do think it runs more on novelty and nostalgia more than actually being what I'd consider a good game.

Of course. I like to think of Earthbound as basically being the SNES's Psychonauts. Come for the highly creative (well, at least for its time) dialogue and setting, and try to ignore the mediocre game mechanics on the way. Though I do find Mother's game mechanics (mostly suffering from still clinging to NES-era Dragon Quest conventions) to be far more pleasant than Psychonauts', personally.

Sipex

2012-03-09, 02:41 PM

I still play Earthbound every couple of years.

Although I should note this is a path to a discussion which DOES NOT YIELD. Earthbound fans will never give up or concede on this topic, we've clung stubbornly to this game for nearly 20 years. We aren't giving up now.

On topic I'm seeing a sad lack of two games:

Illusion of Gaia: Kind of an action/rpg hybrid but very linear. Good graphics (especially for it's time) and good game overall however. Close to Terranigma in style.

Robotrek: You're a young inventor and you build robots to fight for you via RPG style battles while you run around solving problems with various inventions. Not incredibly serious but still a very solid game.

killem2

2012-03-09, 02:54 PM

SNES has a lush collection of games.

The ones I remember the best are:

Legend of Zelda Link to the past
Super Ninja Boy (2 player also!)
Act Raiser
Final Fantasy 3. (yes its three, no, it isn't 6, my box says three take your hippie talk else where :smalltongue:)
Mario Kart
Super Mario World
Batman Returns (underrated I feel)
Secret of Mana
Lumina (I think that is the name)
Star Fox
Chrono Trigger

captainspazam

2012-03-16, 01:12 PM

Has anyone ever played Lufia 2 or the 7th saga? They're both one of my top RPGs. EVER. They're also pretty much my childhood in a cartridge.

tyckspoon

2012-03-16, 01:52 PM

Has anyone ever played Lufia 2 or the 7th saga? They're both one of my top RPGs. EVER. They're also pretty much my childhood in a cartridge.

Did you ever actually manage to beat 7th Saga? That game *hated* its players.

sonofzeal

2012-03-16, 08:19 PM

Has anyone ever played Lufia 2 or the 7th saga? They're both one of my top RPGs. EVER. They're also pretty much my childhood in a cartridge.
Lufia2 was great, yes. Vast improvement over the original - not that the original was bad, but it was all mazes and those got frustrating after a while. Lufia2's puzzles were excellent, including "The World's Hardest Puzzle" (which I solved with a couple hints) and "The Infinite Dungeon" (which I beat without help). Actually, I think I learned the word "Providence" from Lufia2. Go figure.

captainspazam

2012-03-17, 09:10 AM

Lufia2 was great, yes. Vast improvement over the original - not that the original was bad, but it was all mazes and those got frustrating after a while. Lufia2's puzzles were excellent, including "The World's Hardest Puzzle" (which I solved with a couple hints) and "The Infinite Dungeon" (which I beat without help). Actually, I think I learned the word "Providence" from Lufia2. Go figure.

Also, dat soundtrack.

Knaight

2012-03-18, 03:20 PM

Light on story? The entire game had about as much text as this post.

Note: I heartily recommend Super Metroid

There is implicit story in the atmosphere, and the scene with the metroid at the end, but yeah, that's about it. It's really only the Prime series that have much of anything, with Fusion coming in a distant second. Then there was Other M, but that involves stretching the term "story".

Selpharia

2012-03-18, 09:37 PM

Going to have to add my voice to the chorus of Support for Super Mario RPG. Fun system, good value, excellent story and Peach and Bowser as playable party members? Yes, Please!

captainspazam

2012-03-19, 02:39 PM

Ooh, also, the original Yoshi's Island was a lot of fun. INSTANT classic. Love it. Love it. LOVE IT.

Calemyr

2012-03-22, 03:47 PM

Throwing my fedora into the ring:

Number 1: Final Fantasy 3 (VI). Great characterization, strong mechanics, and an overall plot that is very strong, even if it draws just a bit too much from Star Wars (Vicks and Wedge, the Atma Weapon, some quotes during Locke's scenario). The game is freaking awesome. Plus it includes the most awesome villain in gaming history, who trounces a certain silver-haired pretty-boy in every category except being better at dying.

Number 2: Super Mario RPG. Beautifully drawn and given a superb soundtrack, this game deserves mention purely on its technical merits. But the really impressive thing about it is how fun it is, and how much humor they inject into the game. The people who made this game obviously understood that the Super Mario setting is a little ridiculous to begin with, and so they set out to enjoy the ride rather than take it all too seriously. You will, too.

Number 3: Chrono Trigger. These three games keep coming up for one very good reason, they really are just that good. One might think the adventures of a narcoleptic small-town kid with a wooden sword and no comb might not be an epic story, but one would be very wrong indeed. A huge story with great characters and a perfect blend of humor and tension.

Number 4: Breath of Fire II. Unarguably a guilty pleasure. Although some of the translation comes off as clumsy, the game itself is rock solid and boasts a plot-line that was practically unthinkable at that time in Nintendo's career. Also boasts fascinating characters, rocking music, and an odd fusion system that could drastically (if temporarily) alter your allies, plus a few curve balls that were a good deal ahead of their time. (And I'm not kidding about the fusion system. Some of those combos were so incredibly awesome - such as Jean's - or hilarious - such as Rand's.)

Number 5: Lufia 2. Maybe not the most advanced game in the SNES library, but it did so many awesome things that I am so not going to tell you about. A pretty straight forward game with a much less than straight forward plot, it's quite fun. Plus... well Dekar. He rules. Deal with it.

Honorable mentions:
Final Fantasy 5. Would have made it to Number 4 if it weren't a fan-translation for the SNES, and one that gives the main character the unfortunate name of Butz. The game is well made and offers a lot of opportunity for customization (and powergaming), and includes more than a few moments that are very powerful. Absolutely worth a look if you're willing.

Secret of Evermore. This is a great game, although somewhat short and very silly. Having a B-Movie obsessed hero who compares every situation to some movie or another is a nice change of pace to dour knights and mages with serious psychological issues. Not a great deal of characterization here, just a boy and his dog, exploring a serious of vast and fascinating settings.

Secret of Mana. This game deserves more credit, as it's one of the first RPGs to actually try to make the combat fun. Epic soundtrack, great setting, and fun combat compete against the odd typo and the feeling that the story would have been even bigger if they'd had the space on the cartridge.

And while Earthbound isn't the most engaging style of game, its off beat musics, creative enemies, and flat-out-trippy presentation make it a game to remember. Which you should know, since you played it. If you hadn't, I would have made it my Number 3 choice, because all should fear the awesome might and superiority of the third best.

Sleverin

2012-03-22, 09:24 PM

Metahuman1

2012-03-22, 09:28 PM

The fact that the OP said he prefers an RPG for the SNES and the very first words of the first response weren't "The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past." Saddens me.

Starwulf

2012-03-22, 10:56 PM

I personally love Secret of Evermore, but a lot of people I know don't seem to care for it much. I honestly don't know why, except that I have a feeling that since it wasn't Secret of Mana 2 like they wanted, they hated it, instead of enjoying it. Since I'm a fan of the character, who I always liked since he likened real life to cheesy B-Movies, and I LOVE the different settings you get to play through, it's a solid game with some minor issues but deserves a lot of love.

I loved the unique spell-casting and making your own spells via finding the various ingredients in stuff. Definitely very unique at the time, and was one of the stars of the game. I love SoE, even own the big 64(or 128?) Page players guide to it, sitting underneath my desk right now :)

Lord Seth

2012-03-23, 01:12 AM

The fact that the OP said he prefers an RPG for the SNES and the very first words of the first response weren't "The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past." Saddens me.Zelda's not really an RPG, it's more of an adventure game.

Sipex

2012-03-23, 11:42 AM

Yeah, these days the difference is fuzzy but back in the SNES days there was a distinct line between RPGs and Adventure. When someone asks you for a SNES RPG they mean in the classic sense, not the more general sense we use today.

Also, another RPG, although it's not for everyone. Dragon View.

danzibr

2012-03-23, 12:10 PM

I may be one of those who find Illusion of Gaia to be a terrible game in both the gameplay and story sections, but don't take my word for it.
Is that the one where you play as a kid then later on can turn into an adult knight dude then even later can turn into this shadowy thing?

I remember it as being okay.

Secret of Evermore is great. I mean, at this point there's nothing to contribute to the thread. I might as well say I also love FFIII, FFIV, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, et cetera.

Maryring

2012-03-24, 06:31 PM

Is that the one where you play as a kid then later on can turn into an adult knight dude then even later can turn into this shadowy thing?

I remember it as being okay.

Secret of Evermore is great. I mean, at this point there's nothing to contribute to the thread. I might as well say I also love FFIII, FFIV, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, et cetera.

Yeah, that's the one. My main problem was that it was mainly you do stuff, then you do stuff, then you do more stuff. Everything feels so disjointed. You're forced to kill all enemies in order to keep up on the power-level, and if you are careless with herbs, well too bad for you.

But my main problem is that nothing really makes sense. The plot is pretty much random events with barely any coherence, with characters that just plain act weirdly.

theMycon

2012-03-24, 07:04 PM

First: Robotrek. It doesn't take itself seriously, and the difficulty curve is Wacky*; but it has a surprisingly good story, deeply likable characters, and half the fun is customizing and experimenting. The game rewards doing crazy things and trying everything. I'm replaying it now (4th or 5th time) and my robot builds, equipment, and specials are set up different from every other run I've done. Note that I do not consider this the *best* RPG on the list-that honor is split between FFVI and Chrono Trigger-, but it has only been mentioned once, and I find that to be a shame.

Others: Chrono Trigger. FF VI (3 in America). Breath of Fire 2. The first 15 minutes of "Lufia and the Fortress of Doom", quickly followed by skipping to its sequel. The full Illusion of Gaia Trilogy**. Secret of Mana/Seiken densetu III.

I would re-recommend Earthbound, but you have already played it. Note that it's merely the 2nd game in a trilogy, and only the best by a little bit.

*The fights for first 5 levels might drive you insane, then they calm down and the trouble is all in the puzzles, then the puzzle-bosses... etc.

**SoulBlazer is so-so, Illusion of Gaia is good but preachy (and you can beat in in, like, 6 hours), and Terranigma is fantastic.

theMycon

2012-03-24, 07:24 PM

... Illusion of Gaia stuff ....
if you are careless with herbs, well too bad for you.

This is the truest complain about the game. Healing is extremely limited. There are, perhaps, 15-20 herbs in the entire game, and the only other healing occurs at save points.

Following the plot requires paying more attention than most "major" RPGs: it's often hidden in random townsfolk, the previous game Soulblazer, real-world history, or once-only "chats with God" at a save point. At one point, being able to continue the game includes "did you read the note left in your bag while you were sleeping", that isn't mentioned until you check your bag and notice there's a new item.
Keeping up with the power level just makes the game easier. Frankly, killing everything is much easier than not killing them.
The game is extremely linear; if you miss something you will never be able to go back for it.
There is a relatively high bodycount of main characters. Not Suikoden "You really tried to attack Luca Blight AFTER the game has made clear he's the main villain, and you had the option to avoid him? Really?"-high, but Suikoden "you only took calculated risks"-high.