You make/bring up these sort of interesting thread on purpose, don't you V?
8-Bit Era: NES, Sega Master System, FamicomThe Legend of Zelda: 8
It was pretty amazing at the time that it had a battery and could save game files. It is unfortunate that my copy's battery finally died (yes, I've had it for that long). Not much of a storyline, but then again, games with storylines at that point in time were unheard of. As such, the rating is based primarily on gameplay. It had a large (rectangular) world that was fairly fun to explore with plenty of secret locations to discover (I had an old Nintendo Power with a map of it that my brothers and I had marked all the secrets on... never did find enough heart containers for two full rows, however). The many of the bosses and enemies were comparatively challenging too (gasp, they required... strategy!) It also established many of the elements that would define the series. Unfortunately, some of my favorite items never made a return to other games in the series (the wand, the blue and red candles, etc).
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link: 9In terms of storyline, it leaves the original in the dust (though it being the same link was... dubious). Really, I liked almost everything about it more than the original. The experience system was fun (I'm like the only one who thinks so, aren't I?), the side scrolling aspect was interesting (and we don't see the same platforming fun until Ocarina of Time... that’s right, the Adventure of Link did platforming coolness before that), but... I miss shooting sword across the screen. But the magic system! Sweet zombie George Washington, the Magic System! It was wonderful (and again, something that we don't really see again). From Jump to Shield to Fairy and so on, those were wonderful. Once again, the bosses were challenging, the levels were difficult (or so I remember them), and my cartridge no longer functions properly. It is still one of my favorites of the series.
Final Fantasy I: 8Plot? There was a plot? Gameplay was fun, and I appreciate it more now than I used to. I generally don't like grinding levels or the sort, but there is something magical about fighting ogres and creeps to save up enough to buy cool swords in the Elf Town place thingy. The various classes were fun, though again, I appreciate that more now than I used to (I thought the Red Mage, Theif, and Black Belt were utterly craptacular characters, but the Master is probably the, well, master: the best character in terms of raw fighting power). It was a world that felt (and still feels) like it is a huge wilderness with civilization holding on with tooth and claw. And I still have a chart thingy that came with the game listing all the weapons, armors, etc in the game and all the monsters. Chaos may be one of the most difficult bosses of that era, and he still is far better than the final boss of some later games (I'll give you a hint, the one I am thinking of is the textbook definition of a mama's boy).
Dragon Warrior/Quest:6.5A classic if there ever was one. Good story line, good challenge, overall. I don't know why, but the small number of weapons and armor in the game made almost every one of them memorable, and there was a logical progression of items too! None of this "golden armor protects you better than iron armor" gibberish. However, it did include a lot of mindless leveling up or treasure hunting. And Princess Gwaelin... you need to stab her. No? But thou must!
Dragon Warrior/Quest II: 7.5Ah, this is a fine sequel. Took a lot of what was right with the first game and improved on it. It also took a lot of what was wrong with the first game and... left it, for the most part, but because the game itself seemed larger the mindless grinding wasn't very noticeable (indeed, I don't really recall it at all). I particularly liked that the world of the original game was included. The separating of abilities into the three characters was interesting, and the wide variety of conceptually fun items was impressive.
Dragon Warrior/Quest III: 5I am undoubtedly biased; indeed, I probably shouldn't even rate this game, but meh. While the class sytem of FFI seemed to work well, in DWIII it seemed like a significant step backwards. What happened to the character distinction of DWII? It basically seemed like in an effort to make a better game, Enix just made a bigger game without actually improving it. Unfortunately, this ruined me on the series and I couldn't stand most of the others long enough to even get an impression of them.
Castlevania II: Simons's Quest: 7A wonderful take on the series, though I probably like it for the same reason I like Zelda II; it was new, refreshing, and it had elements of gameplay that would eventually be brought back in. Unfortunately the game suffered a bit from the player generally not knowing what to do (go in a direction and hope you aren't missing the path you are supposed to take, basically). To note, I loved the added flavor of using Dracula's body parts for added bonuses.
Gargoyle's Quest II: 7What? No love for this classic? Anywho, I actually didn't play this till after the SNES incarnation of the Red Blaze, but I was pleasantly surprised (and, in turn, disappointed that Demon Crest wasn't a better game, give its origins in this game). There aren't many games out there that have a monster as the main protagonist. Interesting storyline and the sidescrolling aspects were a wonderful change from the random battles of other RPGs.
8-Bit honorable MentionThese are a few games that I played, had fond memories off, but that I never actually finished or played through enough times to feel that I am fit to give a ranking.
"Earthbound ZERO"I love Earthbound for the SNES but tried to play this one after that one. I would generally recommend doing the opposite. From what I did get through, it seemed like a fun game with many of the elements that I loved from the SNES version, but... meh.
The Battle of OlympusI didn't learn of this game till after the days of the SNES, but it was quite fun nonetheless. It is sort of like Kid Icaris, only more gritty. Greek myth in game form? Wonderful! The battle system reminds me of Zelda Two, but looking back now, this is what God of War might have been if it had been an 8-Bit game.
CrystalisAnother game that I didn't learn of till much later. It vaguely reminds me of Soul Blazer, for some reason. Fun combat, interesting plot, a shame I never finished it.
MagicianUnfortunately, I don't remember much about this game, but I recall loving the magic word system (basically, the character learned random bits of magic words that the player could then combine in hopes of finding the right set that would produce a magic spell). Fun times.
Spiritual WarfareA game created by Wisdom Tree (that you tell you right now what sort of "game" it was), but a surprisingly fun Zelda ripoff despite the painful religiousness. If one approaches the game seriously, it’s pretty bad, but if one approaches it as a bit of campy fun, it's hilarious and entertaining to play.
16-Bit Era, Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom & Sega GenesisChrono Trigger: 9Um, do I really need to explain this one? However, the combat system was so close to real time, rather than turn based, that it is slightly disappointing. Even if one could just move the characters around the battlefield, like enemies move, I would have been thrilled and would have given this a higher score. My only other gripe is that 600/1000 AD was so fun because what one did in one time period had a very visible effect in the next... all the other time periods lacked that interconnectivity. On a scale of 1 to 10, if CT had those two things in line with my desires, I'd have given it an 11.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: 7A fun continuation of the game, but not really notable in most ways. However, the light/dark world was a wonderful addition that I loved and wish was included in more games to the same or better effect.
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals: 8Mmmm, sweet sweet candy. Unfortunately, the magic system seems a bit tacted on and the graphics weren't particularly wonderful. Also, each dungeon was a bit formulaic (gee, we have to go into this dungeon to perform a task in order to open up the way to the next continent, that conveniently can only be accessed through a shrine or some such). However, the dungeons were wonderful, some of the best I've seen. I absolutely love seeing the enemies on the dungeon map and being able to sneak around them or use them to solve puzzles.
Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu II:8A weak on character development and storyline, but the gameplay is unsurpassed (occasionally matched, however) in this era.
Secret of Mana II/Seiken Densetsu III: 7It had a lot of what SoM did right, but the multiple paths seemed to weaken the story unnecessarily. I'd have much rather had fewer possibilities and more time spent developing those.
Illusion of Gaia:6Fun and a good game but... it seems to have lacked something to make it truly great. Transforming into various characters was fun, and the inclusion of modern myths about lost civilizations was likewise interesting, other than that...
Terranigma: 8Terribly interesting plot, though I was slightly sad when the main character could no longer talk to plants and animals. Almost as good of battle as SoM (the magic system isn't as interesting). However, I never could beat the final boss.
Secret of Evermore:6.5Fun but it seemed like a SoM clone in many ways. The alchemy system was fun at first, but then it got annoying (especially at the end when certain spells could only be used once or twice so they were often less powerful than earlier spells that you could power up). However, the level design! I loved it to no end, simply beautiful.
E.V.O. The Search For Eden: 6I feel slightly sad for this game, as it could have been so much better yet I am quite sure it was restricted by the technology of the time. Evolving a creature was incredibly fun, though it was annoying that the end of each... era? world? time period? level? the creature was entirely replaced. Whee, I'm the best fish around! Wait, no, I'm a weak amphibian. Oh well, I'm now the best amphibian around! wait, no, I'm a craptacular reptile. Sweet, I am a flying lizard of DOOM! Crap, I'm a weaker version of a mouse. I was also disappointed that the evolutionary traits were so ... obvious. Evolution wasn't to be better suited to the environment, it was to follow the designer's path.
Now if only someone would take this idea and use modern technology to make it all that it could be...Mario RPG:7.5So much more fun than the game had any right to be. The battle system was a work of genius, Geno and Mallow were interesting additions to the Mario Cast, and the design of the game was beautiful. Not the best story ever, but perfect for the world of Mario. This really sent the franchise into a new direction (Mario and Luigi Superstars, etc).
Shadowrun:7As, a thing of beauty, and I'm not even familiar with the Shadowrun universe. It is like Maniac Mansion had sex with an RPG of some description and this was the result of that copulation. ... You know, that might be a horribly analogy.
Breath of Fire:7.5Most of the game is a solid RPG; combat wasn't terribly unique, magic was alright, the plot was compelling, but it did shine in some wonderful elements, like the fusions, the wide variety of characters, and, of course, the entire "OMG I'm a Dragon!" bit.
Breath of Fire II: 8A wonderful sequel, quite deserving of the series. The cast is splendid, the fusion system was almost perfect, etc.
Earthbound:8Unique and fun. In terms of solid gameplay, it is probably only a 7, but add in the unique take on, well, almost everything, and it is a cut above the rest.
Final Fantasy IV:8One almost needs to classify what version of the game one is rating. If I went with the American release, then probably only a 7, maybe a 7.5, but the Japanese (and translated version) hardtype is easily an 8. One of the best stories in an RPG that I had seen in a long time, every character was distinct and useful in their own way (except for the bard), and it was... well, wonderful is an understatement. However, the second half of the game (in the underground) felt rushed.
Final Fantasy V:7Fun game mechanics is about it. Those were some
very fun game mechanics, but the story? meh.
Final Fantasy VI:8.5Easily one of the best FF's. Good story, wonderful villains, nice challenge, I particularly liked the branching storylines (it branched but one still got to play all the parts in one playthrough), magicite was a fun system (though it unfortunately reduced the distinction between characters), and a memorable cast. Very appropriate that the last 2-D FF was the best of the lot.
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest: 7.25I am probably one of the few people who even liked this game. But I loved the gameplay and the interaction of weapons and such with the dungeon environment.
Brain Lord: 5.1A very fun game, deserving of some mention, but not really up their with "the best" RPGs. The graphics were sub par, the story was poor, but the gameplay itself was good, and the Fairy system was highly memorable.
Dragon View: 5.5Another fun game, quite innovative for its overworld map, fun gameplay, but slightly confusing storyline. Worthy of mention, worth a play through, but in the end...
Robotrek: 6.5Another game that isn't on the top of the list but deserves mention. A very refreshing game, when it comes down to it, it was innovative and quite entertaining.
Soul Blazer: 6.5An incredibly fun game, challenging, has a little aspect of town building (I would be rating Actraiser, but it wasn't really an RPG), compelling plot, and some very memorable items/characters.
Honorable Mention 16-Bit gamesAgain, games that I don't feel right ranking but deserve recognition.
Ys III: Wanderers from YsAll I remember about this game was that I liked it and that it was fun.
3-D era: Nintendo 64 & Sony PlaystationChrono Cross: 8A fine game, certainly innovative for the combat system, leveling, and even the elemental grid (which was almost a throwback to FFI, but not quite). A good storyline, once the player can figure it out (though... it sort of reminds me of Metal Gear Solid 2 in some ways). However, it lacked the same... compulsion that defines truly great games. I never had a problem putting this game down when I needed to, but for a lot of other games (CT included), I'd easily stay up till the wee hours of the morning playing. And where some games have a large cast of memorable, well developed characters, CC just had a large cast. Some characters were memorable and well developed, but that should be the norm, not an excuse for the rest.
Final Fantasy VII:7 A very commendable first offering for the world of 3-D RPGs. Almost every FF has a gimmicky system of some sort, and Materia was this installments rendition. Unfortunately, materia grows, while nice on the surface, was just plain stupid later on. I have Fire 3 and a new materia that does... Fire 1. Wee. Materia was well suited for a lot of abilities, summons, etc, but Magic was just sort of annoying with this system. Character designs were good, the storyline was interesting enough, but actual character development was crap. I am in the minority of that opinion, but Cloud and Sephiroth are 2nd rate characters from 3rd rate fan fiction. They still worked in the story, but they were "meh." Some of the mini games were nice but a lot were stupid (such as the breathing one). And yes, I did rate Final Fantasy Mystic Quest as higher than FF7. I think that destroyed my credibility.
Final Fantasy VIII:7.75A splendid improvement over FFVII. Character designs were still good, the plot was more interesting, the time shifting aspect was mysterious and added a great element to the gameplay. This installations gimmick system was the draw/function system and GF. The GF's were a wonderful interpretation of summons and I liked it quite a bit. Summons finally played a very important roll to the game and story. Drawing magic was fine and almost fun, but that controlling stats wasn't a good idea. It really just resulted in players wanting to spend hours drawing powerful magics then never using them. Why include magic if no one wants to use it? If there wasn't that annoying link between the two, the rating would have been an easy 8. The automatic leveling of enemies was interesting and a fun concept but not one I am sad to see discarded. Triple Triad or whatever the card game was terribly fun, matched only by Blitzball, in my experience.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: 8.5Did I miss something? Why wasn't this in the list if the first three were? Anywho, this still generally holds the title for the best Zelda game ever. Fun plot, good puzzles, wonderful platforming, etc.
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: 8Actually, I liked this game more than OoT, but that one has a better storyline while MM has better gameplay. I loved the transformation masks to no end, and the challenge of collecting all the masts was splendid. However, a longer game would have been nice. Only really 4 dungeons?! Blasphemy.
Megaman 64: 7.75Alright, maybe I should title this "Megaman Legends," but I played it on the N64. A superb take on Megaman mythos, and while I am slightly sad there was no absorbing the powers of beaten bosses, the sub weapons were still quite fun without it. The perfect mix of action adventure and RPG elements.
Quest 64: 6The N64 wasn't really strong on the classic RPGs... this might really be the only one. Nothing really surprising, but it did make an honest attempt and the magic system was interesting, earning it at least a mention.
3-D Honorable MentionArc the LadActually, I never played it, but I heard nothing but good things about it. As one may have guessed, I never owned a PS1 (thus, all the games I either played on the PS2 or PC).
Castlevania: Symphony of the NightAgain, never actually played this once, but my favorite Castlevania games came about because of this installment.
Era of Geometically Shaped Systems: Nintendo Gamecube, Microsoft XBOX, Sega Dreamcast, & Sony Playstation 2Skies of Arcadia Legends (GC): 6.5A fun game with a few improvements over the original version (but largely the same thing, to my understanding). Ship battle was fun, but the random battles (and special attacks) were so tedious and uninteresting as to make the rest of the game almost unplayable. Fun characters, however.
Dragon Quest VIII: 7.5A fun game that made me a fan of the DW/DQ series again (well, I always did like ice-cream
). The skill system thingy was fun, though slightly annoying as chances are some skill points will be wasted in the first few levels. The Monster Arena was fun, the tension bit was a nice addition, the challenge was fairly good, and there was the nice twist with Dhoulmagus (which is itself a good villain name). Unfortunately the final boss was meh. I liked the idea of the Dragovian dungeon but it really required too much King Metal Slime hunting (and the Casino required cheating). Still, all the main characters were very memorable with fun personalities. Its like a fairly good book was turned into an awesome video game.
Final Fantasy X: 7.75A very respectable FF for the first in the new systems. More linear that I like (I fell asleep while playing, the first time I attempted to play it), but I loved all the characters and how they served a specific roll through most of the game (Tidus being quick, Wakka being accurate, Auron for getting through heavy defenses, Lulu for Black Magic, Yuna for White, Riku for the traditional thief roll, and Kimhari for being whatever you want him to be). Easily the best summon system so far. The sphere grid was this game's gimmick, and a worthy gimmick it was. However, it suffered from empty levels and didn't offer a lot of opportunities to take a character down a different path until the very end of the game. The unique weapon thingies were a good idea but poorly implemented; dodging lightning 100 times is just plain stupid. Adding attributes to weapons was fun, but unfortunately largely impractical (lets see, I need 33 of these items and... I can only find them as rare drops from this one creature... glee).
X-Men Legends I: 7Surprisingly good, better than most comic book video games ever aspire to be. I loved that certain powers had an effect on the environment, but I hated how certain powers were essentially required just to progress through the game. Multiplayer was where the game is at, but the required powers restricted the choices of 4 people. Also, too many characters were introduced late in the game. I like psylocke, but gee, almost all enemies after she is unlocked are immune or resistant to psychic powers. Brilliant.
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (GC): 7.5Splendid improvements over the original, and the inclusion of the Brotherhood was perfect. Most the characters were available from the start, which is almost a must. Very few RPGs make good multiplayer games, but the X-Men Legends series delivers.
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GC): 7A worth attempt, though the departure from the old serious tone is disorienting at first. A fine installment and a good game, but it is overshadowed by the great games in the series.
The Lord of The Rings: The Third Age (PS2): 8.25A lot like FFX, but better in many ways. Every single wearable item in the game had its own unique design, which is impressive in itself, but a lot of the items were memorable too, as they served to complete a set. Every character had their own unique powers and were lovable in their own way. The storyline was a little strange, but they had to work it into established cannon and they did a good job. The level system was quite good, and the skills were fun. Unfortunately one really has to devote one's self to just a few possibilities, if one has any hope of getting the best skills before the final battle. The various skill orbs were nice but an underdeveloped/used aspect of the game. The battle were great, the story compelling, the bosses difficult, the effects flashy, and all in all, good times. Though the final boss was stupid (well, not that the boss was stupid in the books, or in the game, but... that should not have been the final boss, not in the form, and it really needed something to lead up to it). Unfortunately, low replay value (though after a few years...)
Dark Cloud: 6Slightly surprised this isn't in the list. Anywho, the concept is fun but the story was lacking. Town building=good, fishing=fairly good, weapon building=fun. Its take on randomly generated dungeons, horrible (they should have looked to Diablo to see how it is done). The characters were annoying too. Though the flying rabbit was cool.
Dark Cloud II: 7.75Best sequel ever. Not the best game ever, mind you, but no other sequel has shown as much improvement over the original as DC2. There were characters I cared about! A plot! Better town building, better fishing (but fishing was less important), a fun invention system, a fun photo gimmick (though the transferable photoalbum was annoyingly small, and missing key photos sucked), a nice golf simulator, a fun robot suit thingy, and even monster transformations (but the transformations sucked). Unfortunately, it still has poor dungeon design (and to make things "harder" they just added way too many levels to later dungeons). Weapon upgrading was good, especially since both characters had two weapons each (and alternate forms). The tag-along system with townfolk was interesting. A very worthy game.
Devil May Cry: 9It has RPG elements, though I am not sure if it can really be defined as an RPG. Assuming it can, do I really need to explain this? Dante is possibly the coolest protagonist ever, the weapons were unique and each served a specific purpose, and the bosses! Ah, sweet 3-eyed mutant Thomas Jefferson, the Bosses! Insanely difficult but they treaded the careful line between difficult and cheap. It wasn't random chance that resulted in a player death (or craptacular enemy design), but slow reflexes and bad strategy.
Devil May Cry 2: 6.5Alas, this game lost a lot of what made the first one great. Dante had a heavy dose of emo thrust down his throat, the villain wasn't very interesting, the level designs were too wide open for the most part and didn't have the DMC feel. However, even when a DMC game is crap, it is still good. Combat was fun, the added character was interesting, and the amulet components were an interesting attempt at shaking up the Devil Trigger mode. Unfortunately, there was no real distinction between a lot of the weapons. Luckily, there were a lot of "wow that's cool" moments.
Devil May Cry 3 (Dante's Awakening Special Edition): 9.25Wow, just wow. More exciting than adrenaline being pumped directly into your heart. Beautiful combat system, Dante's character returns to a lovable crazy ass loon, beautiful bosses, and a nice variety of weapons.
God of War: 8Again, not sure if this counts as an RPG (it has some RPG elements, at least), but if so, it is a sweet ride.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance: 6A fun multiplayer RPG, a nice interpretation of DnD rules, and that is about it.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2: 6.5More of the same, only better
Champions of Norrath: 5Like Baldur's Gate, but better characters and worse gameplay.
Era of Newness: Nintendo Wii, Microsoft XBOX360, & Sony Playstation 3Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Wii):8Beautiful multiplayer RPG action. Fairly good plot, but all your favorite Marvel characters are there (I am Iron Man) and perfect gameplay.
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii): 7.75A brilliant re-imagining of the series. Link kicks even more ass, arms with some very creative items and opposing some very creative foes. Midna is a great addition to the franchise, but it is too bad that she probably wont return again. Slightly sad that the master sword didn't really get any cool powerups.
As for the other eras/categories... let me rest, please! Gah, the categories I covered were too many video games to consider in itself, don't make me talk about more games! At least… not yet.
EDIT: hmm... just noticed that I am apparently the only one who has an uncontrollable compulsion to explain my ratings.
