On the subject of 16-bit action-RPGs

[Exhuminator]

if the first didn't agree with you this one won't either

You may recall back in 2015 when I beat and adored the PSP remake of Brandish, it definitely agreed with me. I'm think of playing Brandish 2 after Alcahest and Ys IV. Too bad the Expert version hasn't been translated, but I guess it's doable after finishing the original in English.

Bored and SD3... SEE THE DOCTOR ASAP!

I'll give it a chance again sometime. Meanwhile you should take two King's Fields and call me in the morning.

Yeah, I've always called Arcus Odyssey "Japanese Gauntlet."

From what I played of the game, that's apt description.

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There are some interesting looking X68000 action-RPGs:

[BoneSnapDeez]

Have you played any version of Dragon Buster? It was a Namco arcade game and the Famicom port is pretty cheap and easy to find.

It's okay....... The "action-RPG" elements are pretty rudimentary. It's essentially a fantasy-themed platformer with a small semblance of non-linearity. Controls are questionable, to put it lightly.

Those other games look rad, especially Emerald Densetsu.

[Exhuminator]

I've played a fair amount of Dragon Buster and Dragon Buster II: Yami no Fuuin, but I never finished either one. They are rather tough, but fun in an arcade-y way.

[Gunstar Green]

The Famicom version is a little better than the arcade game in my opinion since they added a few items that make life easier. I assume the X68000 version is just straight up the arcade game.

[BoneSnapDeez]

The big daddy of X68000 games:

[BoneSnapDeez]

Hey Exumy if you enjoyed Alcahest and are looking for another ARPG you can spank out quickly check out this:

Wolf Team's Neugier: Umi to Kaze no Koudou

[ElkinFencer10]

Anyone have yay or nay opinions on Star Ocean?

[BoneSnapDeez]

Yay.

First things first, it's debatable whether it's an "action-RPG" proper. It has the same sort of pausable "hybrid" system of Tales of Phantasia. Both of those games feel structured more like traditional JRPGs overall.

Second, it's a solid game. One of the best looking RPGs on Super Famicom too. It's beautiful.

I'd recommend the first three in the series: Star Ocean, Star Ocean: The Second Story, and Star Ocean: Blue Sphere. The series took a nosedive after that.

My chief complaint with these games - especially the second one - is that there's lots of missable stuff should you choose to play sans walkthrough.

[Xeogred]

Bored and SD3... SEE THE DOCTOR ASAP!

I'll give it a chance again sometime. Meanwhile you should take two King's Fields and call me in the morning.

Perhaps sometime next year as I'm hoping to focus more on my PSX/PS2 backlog.

Not to beat a dead horse (on your end too? haha), but I really do feel like the Souls series is basically the best thing since 8/16bit ARPG's. The main design blueprints are practically the same thing. Dungeon crawling and crazy bosses. King's Field probably fits a bit more in the Ultima Underworld vein, so I think Souls' third person view makes it more comparable to the overhead style of the old in some ways.

[Sarge]

Yeah, Neugier is a really quick play. It was the first game I went through when I got my SD2SNES.