Your first RPG?

[Acacia Sgt]

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Preeeeeeeetty sure LttP isn't an RPG.

Since it stands for Role-Playing Game, I'm sure games like the Legend of Zelda ones can count.

[Thought]

If any Zelda game is an RPG, then so is Metroid, Castlevania, and Blaster Master.

To be fair, FFI and other such games aren't really Role-Playing games either. They have traditional RP elements, however, which tends to be enough for consuls.

[wsdragon]

Earthbound.  At that time (and maybe even today) it is one of the strangest game I've ever played.

[Battler]

It was either Earthbound or FFIV, both of which I loved immensely.

[Toan]

The first true RPG that I played was either Final Fantasy 4 or Chrono Trigger. I never finished both sadly (more for Trigger than Final Fantasy >:] ).

[Vehek]

Not quite sure. I think the first RPG I played was Final Fantasy VII (PC), but there might be other games in the past that  might count (depending on what you mean by RPG), such as Realmz. Or maybe I played that later; I don't remember for sure.

[ZeaLitY]

Super Mario RPG.

[Lord J Esq]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was my first RPG. Or, if we're excluding RPGs that don't have rigorous leveling systems (which seems like a silly criterion of exclusion), then The Secret of Mana was my first RPG. Both were among the most influential video games I have ever played. A great deal of my shape as a writer comes from those two games, and a few others.

[Crono666]

The first RPG that I ever played was Super Mario RPG.
I wish that it would get a sequel, but that will never happen.

[Shee]

If we're not counting Zelda stuffs, it would be Finaly Fantasy IV.  I knew nothing about the genre, and was blown away.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

The first RPG that I ever played was Super Mario RPG.
I wish that it would get a sequel, but that will never happen.

Although there's no direct sequel, some people consider Paper Mario (N64), Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Gamecube) and Super Paper Mario (Wii) are semi-sequels... But if you want a true Mario RPG gaming goodness, then check out the three GBA/DS Mario and Luigi games: Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA), Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time (DS), and Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS). Those three are some of the funnest and funniest games I've ever played. I kid you not. Very few video games make me laugh out loud, and all of the Mario and Luigi games have done it successfully.

[Acacia Sgt]

The first RPG that I ever played was Super Mario RPG.
I wish that it would get a sequel, but that will never happen.

Although there's no direct sequel, some people consider Paper Mario (N64), Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Gamecube) and Super Paper Mario (Wii) are semi-sequels...

Paper Mario was even going to be called Super Mario RPG 2.

[GenesisOne]

If I recall, it was either Chrono Trigger or Super Mario RPG being my first.

For me, the Final Fantasy games were too complex for a person my age at that time.  Also, I never even knew Dragon Quest had gone that far back until much later.

[Thought]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was my first RPG. Or, if we're excluding RPGs that don't have rigorous leveling systems (which seems like a silly criterion of exclusion)

While I agree that a leveling system is poor criteria for RPGs, what would you consider to be the defining element?

Could we consider Metroid to be an RPG? One does, after all, take on the role of Samus as she explores an alien world, very similar in mechanics to what Link goes through in that classic SNES game. Or if social interactions are necessary, then would Metroid Fusion count, given that it is very similar in basic design to the earlier Zelda games? What about Harvest Moon? Is it an RPG or a farming simulator (or do those even have to be separate genres)?

[placidchap]

Final Fantasy I

I've always considered a RPG as a game where you get 'experience points', 'level up' and get better equipment.  Zelda games, except for Zelda II, are adventure games from my perspective, and great ones at that.