Planning a first run of the major SNES RPG's

[futurefields]

And I want to do them in chronological order of their release dates I guess. So I am thinking...

FF4 (FF2 NA)
Lufia I
Breath of Fire I
FF6 (FF3 NA)
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Breath of Fire II
Super Mario RPG
Lufia II

now bearing in mind that I dont want this list to get out of control long, are there any other super important ones I should play and what place in the order should they be in?

 

[Oyeve]

Dude, Breath of Fire.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Yeah BOF (at least the first one) needs to be on the list.

Secret of Mana is more an action RPG. If those count then you are leaving out one of the best games ever (Link to the Past).

I also think Robotrek needs to be on the list and MAYBE Lufia 2.

Are you considering fan translated games? Because if so FFV and Secret of Mana 2 need to be on the list.

Also I wouldn't beat it in Chronological order. FF4 has a lot of grinding and going back through dungeons that could leave a bad taste in your mouth for the rest. I would start with Chrono Trigger so your first impression is the best one possible.

 

[Sulaco]

I would add:

--Illusion of Gaia (more action-ish, but a charming story, characters, and wonderful world and music)
--Terranigma (unofficial sequel to IoG)
--Breath of Fire I & II
--Shadowrun

Others to REALLY consider:

--Secret of Evermore
--Final Fantasy V
--Lufia 2

 

[jpiniero]

If you are playing on an emulator, I would suggest playing the GBA version of the FF games. The additional content in those versions are kind of nice. FF4's bonus dungeon is the best part of it albeit a bit grindy.

 

[futurefields]

List updated, I am trying to stick to the "classic" Snes versions that had an official North American release for these first runthrougha (zelda isnt on the list because ive played it already and am sticking to games that work well on touch screen as well)

 

[futurefields]

Also I wouldn't beat it in Chronological order. FF4 has a lot of grinding and going back through dungeons that could leave a bad taste in your mouth for the rest. I would start with Chrono Trigger so your first impression is the best one possible.

Best first impression of Chrono but then wouldnt FF4 suffer in its first impression? Im really keen on tackling these chronologically in order of release to see the genre progressions. If FF4 was too grindy because it came out in '91 and the genre formulas were still being ironed out then thats sort of how i would like to experience it.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Best first impression of Chrono but then wouldnt FF4 suffer in its first impression? Im really keen on tackling these chronologically in order of release to see the genre progressions. If FF4 was too grindy because it came out in '91 and the genre formulas were still being ironed out then thats sort of how i would like to experience it.

I get what you are going for. Trying to relive the experience as it happened. Cool thing is when you get to Chrono Trigger or FF6 (still my favorite JRPG ever) you still appreciate them.

I would honestly start with Final Fantasy 1 on NES if at all possible, THEN move to FF4. That was the real experience back then. FF4 is such a leap because most of us had only played FF1 or a Dragon Warrior or two before FF4. FF1 is still very playable, I did it recently. Kinda short compared to modern JRPGs.

 

[futurefields]

I was going to start a thread for Top 3 NES RPG games that must be played as well.

I started playing Dragon Warrior I (1986) but wow... "thou hath killed one slime, thou hath gained 1 xp, thou hath gained 1 gold" is getting pretty old... might just skip on to FF1 like you suggested.

 

[purbeast0]

soul blazer is a sleeper rpg. it's more zelda style though so if you don't consider that an rpg then you won't consider soul blazer one either. neither of them are traditional turn based rpgs.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I was going to start a thread for Top 3 NES RPG games that must be played as well.

I started playing Dragon Warrior I (1986) but wow... "thou hath killed one slime, thou hath gained 1 xp, thou hath gained 1 gold" is getting pretty old... might just skip on to FF1 like you suggested.

Dragon Warrior 1 is where I started but that is old old. I grinded days in it when it was the first RPG ever but I wouldn't replay it. The US didn't get many NES JRPG releases outside of Dragon Warriors and Final Fantasy 1. Really for what you are going for Final Fantasy 1 is the best starting point because it had a larger influence on the SNES JRPGs. Dragon Warriors just had more scope on the NES which is what they are remembered for. Heck Dragon Warrior 3 was a 100+ hour game for me. Those late DWs were big.

Top 3 NES RPGs ever:

1. FF3
2. Earthbound 0
3. Dragon Warrior 4

But as a kid you didn't get that experience. The first two never had a full domestic release, and DW 4 was an absolute bitch to get your hands on.

 

[futurefields]

I think I'm going to replace Tecmo Secret of the Stars with something. After further research, it's not really an essential play. I might do Dragon Quest V and VI instead, even though they aren't official translations. That's a more iconic series for sure.

edit: replacing it with Secret of Evermore

 

[JujuFish]

If you're willing to include non-turned based, Illusion of Gaia is great.

 

[futurefields]

I just messed around with it some more and I don't think any non-turn based games are going to work. The touch screen controls are just too touchy. So I better replace Secret of Mana and Secret of Evermore. I've got to get another SNES USB controller so I can play those as well.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Was Secret of Evermore good? It was a Square game right in the midst of the best of them, but I never see anyone even mention it, but I don't recall it being considered terrible or anything, seems like people just didn't play it or aren't aware of it.

 

[Ichinisan]

If you are playing on an emulator, I would suggest playing the GBA version of the FF games. The additional content in those versions are kind of nice. FF4's bonus dungeon is the best part of it albeit a bit grindy.

GBA has inferior audio and screen resolution.

Areas that were composed to fit on the screen for SNES will be severely cropped on GBA.

 

[Ichinisan]

Was Secret of Evermore good? It was a Square game right in the midst of the best of them, but I never see anyone even mention it, but I don't recall it being considered terrible or anything, seems like people just didn't play it or aren't aware of it.

I haven't played it. If I recall correctly, it was made by an American studio that Square created.

 

[CZroe]

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

 

[SaurusX]

Shadowrun isn't being considered an RPG?

ETA: I guess I should have read the rest of the thread since it's mentioned in post 3.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Was Secret of Evermore good?

I never really liked it. Stopped about halfway through. It was recognized to not be as good as Secret of Mana.

 

[Rage187]

Secret of evermore sucked.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

That is a great game but almost no one in the SNES era played it. VERY limited release.

 

[Exophase]

If you're not playing with original carts and are serious about SNES RPGs I strongly recommend adding some that were never officially released outside of Japan but have since had fan translations. Here are some I personally enjoyed:

Final Fantasy V
Seiken Densetsu 3 (sequel to Secret of Mana)
Tales of Phantasia (although there are remakes for other systems that are better)
Star Ocean
Live a Live
Rudra no Hihou
Emerald Dragon

Some I didn't complete because I didn't really like them, but may still be worth considering:

Mystic Ark
Bahamut Lagoon
Magic Knight Rayearth

And I bunch I haven't played:

Dragon Quest 4-6 (not really into the series)
Treasure Hunter G
Der Langrisser
Eternal Filena
Dual Orb II (I don't think the first one even has a translation)
Chaos Seed
Daikajuu Monogatari
Galaxy Robo
Burning Heroes
Silva Saga II
Lennus II

And various others... some of these look pretty good but I can't really vouch for anything.

There was also a Sailor Moon SNES RPG (called Another Story) that got a fan translation that I liked enough way back in highschool, but I don't know if I'd actually recommend it now.

And finally, for an SNES RPG that did get an official North American release but no one liked there's Secret of the Stars. I actually thought it was okay, but I was also like 13 when I played it.

If you are playing on an emulator, I would suggest playing the GBA version of the FF games. The additional content in those versions are kind of nice. FF4's bonus dungeon is the best part of it albeit a bit grindy.

I wouldn't do this, the music quality is so much worse. And the graphics have been modified for GBA's lower resolution, over-saturated display.

 

[Rhezuss]

Wow that's cool man! I still have a SNES at home with Lufia 2, Soul Blazer and Shadowrun...could be a good time to plug that baby up!

I made the biggest mistake of my life back in the days when I sold Secret of Mana...I could cry my life just thinking about it...

 

[evident]

I get what you are going for. Trying to relive the experience as it happened. Cool thing is when you get to Chrono Trigger or FF6 (still my favorite JRPG ever) you still appreciate them.

I would honestly start with Final Fantasy 1 on NES if at all possible, THEN move to FF4. That was the real experience back then. FF4 is such a leap because most of us had only played FF1 or a Dragon Warrior or two before FF4. FF1 is still very playable, I did it recently. Kinda short compared to modern JRPGs.

I played FF1 on an iphone a few years back. I was so impressed with how it held up today. the soundtrack was very memorable. :thumbsup: